Vaisnava Institute For Higher Education

Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, i.e. '' Mahavishnu''. Its followers are called Vaishnavites or ''Vaishnava''s (), and it includes sub-sects like Krishnaism and Ramaism, which consider Krishna and Rama as the supreme beings respectively.
According to a 2010 estimate by Johnson and Grim, Vaishnavism is the largest Hindu sect, constituting about 641 million or 67.6% of Hindus.

The ancient emergence of Vaishnavism is unclear, and broadly hypothesized as a fusion of various regional non-Vedic religions with Vishnu. A merger of several popular non-Vedic theistic traditions, particularly the Bhagavata cults of Vāsudeva-krishna and '' Gopala-Krishna'', and Narayana, developed in the 7th to 4th century BCE. It was integrated with the Vedic God Vishnu in the early centuries CE, and finalized as Vaishnavism, when it developed the avatar doctrine, wherein the various non-Vedic deities are revered as distinct incarnations of the supreme God Vishnu. Rama, Krishna, Narayana, Kalki, Hari, Vithoba, Venkateshvara, Shrinathji, and Jagannath are among the names of popular avatars all seen as different aspects of the same supreme being.

The Vaishnavite tradition is known for the loving devotion to an avatar of Vishnu (often Krishna), and as such was key to the spread of the Bhakti movement in Indian subcontinent in the 2nd millennium CE. It has four main categories of ''sampradayas'' (denominations, sub-schools): the medieval-era Vishishtadvaita school of Ramanuja, the Dvaita school ( Tattvavada) of Madhvacharya, the Dvaitadvaita school of Nimbarkacharya, and the Pushtimarg of Vallabhacharya. Ramananda (14th century) created a Rama-oriented movement, now the largest monastic group in Asia.

Key texts in Vaishnavism include the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Pancaratra (Agama) texts, Naalayira Divya Prabhandham, and the Bhagavata Purana.

History

Origins

Northern India

The ancient emergence of Vaishnavism is unclear, the evidence inconsistent and scanty. Syncretism of various traditions resulted in Vaishnavism. Although ''Vishnu'' was a Vedic solar deity, he is mentioned less often compared to Agni, Indra, and other Vedic deities, thereby suggesting that he had a minor position in the Vedic religion.

According to Dandekar, what is understood today as Vaishnavism did not originate in Vedism at all, but emerged from the merger of several popular theistic traditions which developed after the decline of Brahmanism at the end of the Vedic period, closely before the second urbanisation of northern India, in the 7th to 4th century BCE. It initially formed as Vasudevism around Vāsudeva, a deified leader of the Vrishnis, and one of the Vrishni heroes. Later, Vāsudeva was amalgamated with Krishna "the deified tribal hero and religious leader of the Yadavas", to form the merged deity '' Bhagavan Vāsudeva-Krishna'', due to the close relation between the tribes of the Vrishnis and the Yadavas. This was followed by a merger with the cult of '' Gopala-Krishna'' of the cowherd community of the Abhıras in the 4th century CE. The character of Gopala Krishna is often considered to be non-Vedic. According to Dandekar, such mergers consolidated the position of Krishnaism between the heterodox sramana movement and the orthodox Vedic religion. The "Greater Krsnaism", states Dandekar, then adopted the Rigvedic Vishnu as Supreme deity to increase its appeal towards orthodox elements.

According to Klostermaier, Vaishnavism originates in the latest centuries BCE and the early centuries CE, with the cult of the heroic Vāsudeva, a leading member of the Vrishni heroes, which was then amalgamated with Krishna, hero of the Yadavas, and still several centuries later with the "divine child" Bala Krishna of the Gopala traditions. According to Klostermaier, "In some books Krishna is presented as the founder and first teacher of the Bhagavata religion." According to Dalal, "The term Bhagavata seems to have developed from the concept of the Vedic deity Bhaga, and initially it seems to have been a monotheistic sect, independent of the Brahmanical pantheon."

The development of the Krishna-traditions was followed by a syncretism of these non-Vedic traditions with the Mahabharata canon, thus affiliating itself with Vedism in order to become acceptable to the orthodox establishment. The Vishnu of the Rig Veda was assimilated into non-Vedic Krishnaism and became the equivalent of the Supreme God. The appearance of Krishna as one of the '' Avatars'' of Vishnu dates to the period of the Sanskrit epics in the early centuries CE. The ''Bhagavad Gita''—initially, a Krishnaite scripture, according to Friedhelm Hardy—was incorporated into the Mahabharata as a key text for Krishnaism.

Finally, the Narayana worshippers were also included, which further brahmanized Vaishnavism. The Nara-Narayana worshippers may have originated in Badari, a northern ridge of the Hindu Kush, and absorbed into the Vedic orthodoxy as Purusa Narayana. Purusa Narayana may have later been turned into Arjuna and Krsna.

In the late-Vedic texts (~1000 to 500 BCE), the concept of a metaphysical Brahman grows in prominence, and the Vaishnavism tradition considered Vishnu to be identical to Brahman, just like Shaivism and Shaktism consider Shiva and Devi to be Brahman respectively.

This complex history is reflected in the two main historical denominations of Vishnavism. The Bhagavats, worship Vāsudeva-Krishna, and are followers of Brahmanic Vaishnavism, while the Pacaratrins regard Narayana as their founder, and are followers of Tantric Vaishnavism.

Southern India

S. Krishnaswami Aiyangar states that the lifetime of the Vaishnava Alvars was during the first half of the 12th century, their works flourishing about the time of the revival of Brahminism and Hinduism in the north, speculating that Vaishnavism might have penetrated to the south as early as about the first century CE. There also exists secular literature that ascribes the commencement of the tradition in the south to the 3rd century CE.
U.V. Swaminathan Aiyar, a scholar of Tamil literature, published the ancient work of the Sangam period known as the Paripatal, which contains seven poems in praise of Vishnu, including references to Krishna and Balarama. Aiyangar references an invasion of the south by the Mauryas in some of the older poems of the Sangam, and indicated that the opposition that was set up and maintained persistently against northern conquest had possibly in it an element of religion, the south standing up for orthodox Brahmanism against the encroachment of Buddhism by the persuasive eloquence and persistent effort of the Buddhist emperor Ashoka. The Tamil literature of this period has references scattered all over to the colonies of Brahmans brought and settled down in the south, and the whole output of this archaic literature exhibits unmistakably considerable Brahman influence in the making up of that literature.

The Vaishnava school of the south based its teachings on the Naradiya Pancharatra from the north and laid stress on a life of purity, high morality, worship and devotion to only one God. Although the monism of Shankara was greatly appreciated by the intellectual class, the masses came increasingly within the fold of Vishnu. Vaishnavism checked the elaborate rituals, ceremonials, vratas, fasts, and feasts prescribed by the Smritis and Puranas for the daily life of a Hindu, and also the worship of various deities like the sun, the moon, the grahas or planets, enjoined by the priestly Brahmin class for the sake of emoluments and gain. It enjoined the worship of no other deities except Narayana of the Upanishads, who was deemed the primal cause of ''srsti'' (creation), ''sthiti'' (existence) and ''pralaya'' (destruction). The accompanying philosophies of Advaita and Vishishtadvaita brought the lower classes into the fold of practical Hinduism, and extended to them the right and privilege of knowing God and attaining ''mukti'' (salvation).

The Pallava dynasty of Tamilakam patronised Vaishnavism. Mahendra Varman built shrines both of Vishnu and Shiva, several of his cave-temples exhibiting shrines to Brahma, Vishnu, and Shiva. In the age of the Pallava domination, which followed immediately, both Vaishnavism and Shaivism flourished, fighting the insurgent Buddhists and Jains. The Pallavas were also the first of various dynasties that offered land and wealth to the Venkatesvara temple at Tirumala, which would soon become the most revered religious site of South India. The Sri Vaishnava acharya Ramanuja is credited with the conversion of the Hoysala king Vishnuvardhana (originally called Bittideva) from Jainism to Vaishnavism, consolidating the faith in Karnataka. The Chalukyas and their rivals of the Pallavas appear to have employed Vaishnavism as an assertion of divine kingship, one of them proclaiming themselves as terrestrial emanations of Vishnu while the other promptly adopted Shaivism as their favoured tradition, neither of them offering much importance to the other's deity. The Sri Vaishnava sampradaya of Ramanuja would hold sway in the south, the Vadakalai denomination subscribing to Vedanta philosophy and the Tenkalai adhering to regional liturgies known as Prabandham.

According to Hardy, there is evidence of early "southern Krishnaism," despite the tendency to allocate the Krishna-traditions to the Northern traditions. South Indian texts show close parallel with the Sanskrit traditions of Krishna and his gopi companions, so ubiquitous in later North Indian text and imagery. Early writings in Tamils' culture such as '' Manimekalai'' and the '' Cilappatikaram'' present Krishna, his brother, and favourite female companions in the similar terms. Hardy argues that the Sanskrit Bhagavata Purana is essentially a Sanskrit "translation" of the bhakti of the Tamil alvars.

Devotion to the southern Indian Mal (Perumal) may be an early form of Krishnaism, since Mal appears as a divine figure, largely like Krishna with some elements of Vishnu. The Alvars, whose name can be translated "immersed", were devotees of Perumal. They codified the Vaishnava canon of the south with their most significant liturgy, the Naalayira Divya Prabandham, traced to the 10th century as a compilation by Nathamuni. Their poems show a pronounced orientation to the Vaishnava, and often Krishna, side of Mal. But they do not make the distinction between Krishna and Vishnu on the basis of the concept of the avatars. Yet, according to Hardy, the term "Mayonism" should be used instead of "Krishnaism" when referring to Mal or Mayon. The early Alvars speak of glorifying ''Vishnu bhakti'' (devotion to Vishnu), but at the same time, they do regard ''Shiva bhakti'' (devotion to Shiva) with considerable sympathy, and make a visible effort to keep the Shaivas in countenance. The earliest Alvars go the length of describing Shiva and Vishnu as one, although they do recognise their united form as Vishnu.

Srirangam, the site of the largest functioning temple in the world of 600 acres, is devoted to Ranganathaswamy, a form of Vishnu. The legend goes that King Vibhishana, who was carrying the idol of Ranganatha on his way to Lanka, took rest for a while by placing the statue on the ground. When he prepared to depart, he realised that the idol was stuck to the ground. So, he built a small shrine, which became a popular abode for the deity Ranganatha on the banks of the river Kaveri. The entire temple campus with great walls, towards, mandapas, halls with 1000 pillars were constructed over a period of 300 years from the 14th to 17th century CE.

Gupta era

Most of the Gupta kings, beginning with Chandragupta II (Vikramaditya) (375-413 CE) were known as Parama Bhagavatas or Bhagavata Vaishnavas. But following the Huna invasions, especially those of the Alchon Huns circa 500 CE, the Gupta Empire declined and fragmented, ultimately collapsing completely, with the effect of discrediting Vaishnavism, the religion it had been so ardently promoting. The newly arising regional powers in central and northern India, such as the Aulikaras, the Maukharis, the Maitrakas, the Kalacuris or the Vardhanas preferred adopting Saivism instead, giving a strong impetus to the development of the worship of Shiva, and its ideology of power. Vaisnavism remained strong mainly in the territories which had not been affected by these events: South India and Kashmir.

Early medieval period

After the Gupta age, Krishnaism rose to a major current of Vaishnavism, and Vaishnavism developed into various sects and subsects, most of them emphasizing ''bhakti'', which was strongly influenced by south Indian religiosity. Modern scholarship posit Nimbarkacharya (c.7th century CE) to this period who propounded Radha Krishna worship and his doctrine came to be known as (dvaita-advaita).

Vaishnavism in the 10th century started to employ Vedanta-arguments, possibly continuing an older tradition of Vishnu-oriented Vedanta predating Advaita Vedanta. Many of the early Vaishnava scholars such as Nathamuni, Yamunacharya and Ramanuja, contested Adi Shankaras Advaita interpretations and proposed Vishnu bhakti ideas instead. Vaishnavism flourished in predominantly Shaivite Tamil Nadu during the seventh to tenth centuries CE with the twelve Alvars, saints who spread the sect to the common people with their devotional hymns. The temples that the Alvars visited or founded are now known as Divya Desams. Their poems in praise of Vishnu and Krishna in Tamil language are collectively known as ''Naalayira'' Divya Prabandha (4000 divine verses).

Later medieval period

The Bhakti movement of late medieval Hinduism started in the 7th century, but rapidly expanded after the 12th century. It was supported by the Puranic literature such as the Bhagavata Purana, poetic works, as well as many scholarly bhasyas and samhitas