Four sampradayas and other traditions

The Vaishnavism traditions may be grouped within four sampradayas, each exemplified by a specific Vedic personality. They have been associated with a specific founder, providing the following scheme: Sri Sampradaya (Ramanuja), Brahma Sampradaya (Madhvacharya),^[228] Rudra Sampradaya (Vishnuswami, Vallabhacharya),^[229] Kumaras Sampradaya (Nimbarka).^[230]^{[note 5]} These four sampradayas emerged in early centuries of the 2nd millennium CE, by the 14th century, influencing and sanctioning the Bhakti movement.^[68]

The philosophical systems of Vaishnava sampradayas range from qualified monistic Vishishtadvaita of Ramanuja, to theistic Dvaita of Madhvacharya, to pure nondualistic Shuddhadvaita of Vallabhacharya. They all revere an avatar of Vishnu, but have varying theories on the relationship between the soul (jiva) and Brahman,^[182]^[233] on the nature of changing and unchanging reality, methods of worship, as well as on spiritual liberation for the householder stage of life versus sannyasa (renunciation) stage.^[20]^[21]

Beyond the four major sampradayas, the situation is more complicated,^[234] with the Vaikhanasas being much older^[235] than those four sampradayas, and a number of additional traditions and sects which originated later,^[236] or aligned themselves with one of those four sampradayas.^[231] Krishna sampradayas continued to be founded late into late medieval and during the Mughal Empire era, such as the Radha Vallabh Sampradaya, Haridasa, Gaudiya and others.^[237]

Traditions List

More information Sampradaya, Main theological preceptor ...

Sampradaya	Main theological preceptor	Philosophy	Founder	(Sub)schools	Founded	(Sub)school-founder	Worship
Historical traditions				Bhagavatism (Vasudevism)^[1]^[40]	1st millennium BCE	unknown	Vāsudeva, Bala Krishna, Gopala-Krishna
				Pancharatra^[41]	3rd century BCE	Sage Narayana	Vishnu
				Vaikhanasa	4th century CE	Sage Vaikhanasa	Vishnu
Sri Sampradaya	Laksmi	Vishishtadvaita ("qualified monism")	Nathamuni (10th century)^[238] Ramanujacharya	Iyengar Thenkalai	12th–14th century	Pillai Lokacharya Manavala Mamunigal	Vishnu & Lakshmi
Sri Sampradaya	Laksmi	Vishishtadvaita ("qualified monism")	Nathamuni (10th century)^[238] Ramanujacharya	Iyengar Vadakalai	14th century	Vedanta Desika	Vishnu & Lakshmi
Brahma Sampradaya	Brahma	Tattvavada ("the realist viewpoint") or Dvaita ("dualism")	Madhvacharya	Haridasa and Sadh Vaishnavism	13th-14th century	Narahari Tirtha / Sripadaraja	Narayana / Hari (Vishnu) & Lakshmi
		Achintya Bheda Abheda ("difference and non-difference")		Gaudiya Vaishnavism^{[note 6]}	16th century	Chaitanya Mahaprabhu	Radha Krishna
		Achintya Bheda Abheda ("difference and non-difference")		Mahanam Sampradaya	1890s	Prabhu Jagadbandhu	Radha Krishna
Rudra Sampradaya	Shiva	Shuddhadvaita ("pure nondualism")	Vishnuswami^{[note 7]}	Pushtimarg	c. 1500	Vallabhacharya	Krishna and his svarūpas, notably Shrinathji.
Nimbarka Sampradaya	Four Kumaras Narada	Dvaitadvaita ("duality in unity")	Nimbarkacharya		7th or 12th–13th century		Radha Krishna
Sant (Sant Mat) traditions				Warkari Sampradaya	13th century	Dnyaneshwar (Jñāneśvar)^{[note 8]}	Vithoba (Krishna)
				Ramanandi Sampradaya	14th century	Ramananda	Rama
				Bishnoi Panth	1485 CE	Guru Jambheshwar	Vishnu (Narayana/Hari) and Lakshami
				Kabir panth^[1]^[241]	15th century	Kabir, a disciple of Ramananda	Vishnu, Narayana, Govinda,^[242] Rama
				Dadu panth^[1]	16th–17th century	Dadu Dayal	non-sectarian
				Pranami Sampradaya	17th century	Devchandra Maharaj	Krishna
				Charan Dasi	18th century^[243]	Sant Charandas	Radha Krishna
Other traditions				Odia Vaishnavism (Jagannathism)^[17]	Early Middle Ages		Jagannath
				Mahanubhava Sampradaya	12–13th century	Chakradhara	Pancha-Krishna
				Vaishnava-Sahajiya (tantric)	15th century	Vidyapati, Chandidas	Radha Krishna
				Ekasarana Dharma	15th–16th century	Srimanta Sankaradeva	Krishna
				Radha Vallabh Sampradaya	16th century	Hith Harivansh Mahaprabhu	Radha, Radha Krishna
				Swaminarayan Sampradaya	1801	Swaminarayan	Swaminarayan, Radha Krishna, Lakshmi Narayana
				Ramsnehi Sampradaya	1817	Ram Charan (inspirator)	Rama
				Kapadi Sampradaya			Rama
				Haridasi Sampradaya^[244]	16th century	Swami Haridas	Radha Krishna, Banke Bihari
				Balmikism		Sage Valmiki	Rama, Valmiki

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Early traditions

Bhagavats

The Bhagavats were the early worshippers of Krishna, the followers of Bhagavat, the Lord, in the person of Krishna, Vasudeva, Vishnu or Bhagavan.^[245] The term bhagavata may have denoted a general religious tradition or attitude of theistic worship which prevailed until the 11th century, and not a specific sect,^[235]^[246] and is best known as a designation for Vishnu-devotees.^[246] The earliest scriptural evidence of Vaishnava bhagavats is an inscription from 115 BCE, in which Heliodoros, ambassador of the Greco-Bactrian king Amtalikita, says that he is a bhagavata of Vasudeva.^[247] It was supported by the Guptas, suggesting a widespread appeal, in contrast to specific sects.^[245]

Quick Facts Heliodorus pillar, Period/culture ...

Heliodorus pillar
Heliodorus pillar in Vidisha, India.
Period/culture	late 2nd century BCE
Place	Vidisha, Madhya Pradesh, India.
Present location	Vidisha, India
Heliodorus pillar

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Pancaratra

The Pāñcarātra is the tradition of Narayana-worship.^[160] The term pāñcarātra means "five nights," from pañca, "five,"and rātra, "nights,"^[248]^[160] and may be derived from the "five night sacrifice" as described in the Satapatha Brahmana, which narrates how Purusa-Narayana intends to become the highest being by performing a sacrifice which lasts five nights.^[160]

The Narayaniya section of the Mahabharata describes the ideas of the Pāñcarātras.^[160] Characteristic is the description of the manifestation of the Absolute through a series of manifestations, from the vyuha manifestations of Vasudeva and pure creation, through the tattvas of mixed creation into impure or material creation.^[24]

The Pāñcarātra Samhitas developed from the 7th or 8th century onward, and belongs to Agamic or Tantras,^[249]^[163] setting them at odds with vedic orthodoxy.^[166] Vishnu worshipers in south India still follow the system of Pancharatra worship as described in these texts.^[163]

Although the Pāñcarātra originated in north India, it had a strong influence on south India, where it is closely related with the Sri Vaishnava tradition. According to Welbon, "Pāñcarātra cosmological and ritual theory and practice combine with the unique vernacular devotional poetry of the Alvars, and Ramanuja, founder of the Sri Vaishnava tradition, propagated Pāñcarātra ideas."^[250] Ramananda was also influenced by Pāñcarātra ideas through the influence of Sri Vaishnavism, whereby Pāñcarātra re-entered north India.^[250]

Vaikhanasas

The Vaikhanasas are associated with the Pāñcarātra, but regard themselves as a Vedic orthodox sect.^[235]^[251] Modern Vaikhanasas reject elements of the Pāñcarātra and Sri Vaishnava tradition, but the historical relationship with the orthodox Vaikhanasa in south India is unclear.^{[citation needed]} The Vaikhanasas may have resisted the incorporation of the devotic elements of the Alvar tradition, while the Pāñcarātras were open to this incorporation.^[250]

Vaikhanasas have their own foundational text, the Vaikhanasasmarta Sutra, which describes a mixture of Vedic and non-Vedic ritual worship.^[235] The Vaikhanasas became chief priests in a lot of south Indian temples, where they still remain influential.^[235]

Early medieval traditions

Smartism

The Smarta tradition developed during the (early) Classical Period of Hinduism around the beginning of the Common Era, when Hinduism emerged from the interaction between Brahmanism and local traditions.^[252]^[253] According to Flood, Smartism developed and expanded with the Puranas genre of literature.^[254] By the time of Adi Shankara,^[252] it had developed the pancayatanapuja, the worship of five shrines with five deities, all treated as equal, namely Vishnu, Shiva, Ganesha, Surya and Devi (Shakti),^[254] "as a solution to varied and conflicting devotional practices."^[252]

Traditionally, Sri Adi Shankaracharya (8th century) is regarded as the greatest teacher and reformer of the Smarta.^[255]^[256] According to Hiltebeitel, Adi Shankara Acharya established the nondualist interpretation of the Upanishads as the touchstone of a revived smarta tradition.^[252]^{[note 9]}

Alvars

The Alvars, "those immersed in god," were twelve^[210] Tamil poet-saints of South India who espoused bhakti (devotion) to the Hindu god Vishnu or his avatar Krishna in their songs of longing, ecstasy and service.^[257] The Alvars appeared between the 5th century to the 10th century CE, though the Vaishnava tradition regards the Alvars to have lived between 4200 BCE - 2700 BCE.

The devotional writings of Alvars, composed during the early medieval period of Tamil history, are key texts in the bhakti movement. They praised the Divya Desams, 108 "abodes" (temples) of the Vaishnava deities.^[258] The collection of their hymns is known as the Divya Prabandha. Their Bhakti-poems has contributed to the establishment and sustenance of a culture that opposed the ritual-oriented Vedic religion and rooted itself in devotion as the only path for salvation.^[259]

Contemporary traditions

Gavin Flood mentions five most important contemporary Vaishnava orders.^[236]

Nimbarka Sampradaya

Nimbarka Sampradaya, also called Kumara Sampradaya is one of the four bonafied Vaishnavism tradition. It worship Krishna with his chief consort, Radha. The tradition was founded by Nimbarkacharya around 7th CE-12 CE. Nimbarka's philosphical position is dualistic monism and he centered all his devotion to the unified form of the divine couple Radha Krishna in Sakhya bhav.^[260]^[261]^[262]

Sri Vaishnavism

Sri Vaishnavism is one of the major denomination within Vaishnavism that originated in South India, adopting the prefix Sri as an homage to Vishnu's consort, Lakshmi.^[263] The Sri Vaishnava community consists of both Brahmans and non-Brahmans.^[264] It existed along with a larger Purana-based Brahamanical worshippers of Vishnu, and non-Brahmanical groups who worshipped and also adhered by non-Vishnu village deities.^[264] The Sri Vaishnavism movement grew with its social inclusiveness, where emotional devotion to the personal god (Vishnu) has been open without limitation to gender or caste.^[72]^{[note 10]}

The most striking difference between Sri Vaishnavas and other Vaishnava groups lies in their interpretation of Vedas. While other Vaishnava groups interpret Vedic deities like Indra, Savitar, Bhaga, Rudra, etc. to be same as their Puranic counterparts, Sri Vaishnavas consider these to be different names/roles/forms of Narayana, claiming that the entire Veda is dedicated for Vishnu-worship alone. Sri Vaishnavas have remodelled Pancharatra homas like the Sudarshana homa to include Vedic Suktas in them, thus giving them a Vedic outlook.^{[citation needed]}

Sri Vaishnavism developed in Tamilakam in the 10th century.^[266] It incorporated two different traditions, namely the tantric Pancaratra tradition, and the Puranic Vishnu worship of northern India with their abstract Vedantic theology, and the southern bhakti tradition of the Alvars of Tamil Nadu with their personal devotion.^[266]^[72] The tradition was founded by Nathamuni (10th century), who along with Yamunacharya, combined the two traditions and gave the tradition legitimacy by drawing on the Alvars.^[238] Its most influential leader was Ramanuja (1017-1137), who developed the Vishistadvaita ("qualified non-dualism") philosophy.^[267] Ramanuja challenged the then dominant Advaita Vedanta interpretation of the Upanishads and Vedas, by formulating the Vishishtadvaita philosophy foundations for Sri Vaishnavism from Vedanta.^[72]

Sri Vaishnava includes the ritual and temple life in the tantra traditions of Pancharatra, emotional devotion to Vishnu, and the contemplative form bhakti, in the context of householder social and religious duties.^[72] The tantric rituals refers to techniques and texts recited during worship, and these include Sanskrit and Tamil texts in South Indian Sri Vaishnava tradition.^[265] According to Sri Vaishnavism theology, moksha can be reached by devotion and service to the Lord and detachment from the world. When moksha is reached, the cycle of reincarnation is broken and the soul is united with Vishnu after death, though maintaining their distinctions in Vaikuntha, Vishnu's abode.^[268] Moksha can also be reached by total surrender and saranagati, an act of grace by the Lord.^[269] Ramanuja's Sri Vaishnavism subscribes to videhamukti (liberation in afterlife), in contrast to jivanmukti (liberation in this life) found in other traditions within Hinduism, such as the Smarta and Shaiva traditions.^[270]

Two hundred years after Ramanuja, the Sri Vaishnava tradition split into the Vadakalai (northern art) and Tenkalai (southern art) sects. The Vadakalai regard the Vedas as the greatest source of religious authority, emphasising bhakti through devotion to temple-icons, while the Tenkalai rely more on Tamil scriptures and total surrender to God.^[269] The philosophy of Sri Vaishnavism is adhered to and disseminated by the Iyengar community.^[271]

Sadh Vaishnavism

Sadh Vaishnavism is one of the major denominations within Vaishnavism that originated in Karnataka, South India, adopting the prefix Sadh which means 'true'. Madhvacharya named his Vaishnavism as Sadh Vaishnavism in order to distinguish it from the Sri Vaishnavism of Ramanuja. Sadh Vaishnavism was founded by the thirteenth-century philosopher Madhvacharya.^[272]^[273] It is a movement in Hinduism that developed during its classical period around the beginning of the Common Era. Philosophically, Sadh Vaishnavism is aligned with Dvaita Vedanta, and regards Madhvacharya as its founder or reformer.^[274] The tradition traces its roots to the ancient Vedas and Pancharatra texts. The Sadh Vaishnavism or Madhva Sampradaya is also referred to as the Brahma Sampradaya, referring to its traditional origins in the succession of spiritual masters (gurus) have originated from Brahma.^[275]

In Sadh Vaishnavism, the creator is superior to the creation, and hence moksha comes only from the grace of Vishnu, but not from effort alone.^[276] Compared to other Vaishnava schools which emphasize only on Bhakti, Sadh Vaishnavism regards Jnana, Bhakti and Vairagya as necessary steps for moksha. So in Sadh Vaishnavism — Jnana Yoga, Bhakti Yoga and Karma Yoga are equally important in order to attain liberation. The Haridasa movement, a bhakti movement originated from Karnataka is a sub-branch of Sadh Vaishnavism.^[277] Sadh Vaishnavism worships Vishnu as the highest Hindu deity and regards Madhva, whom they consider to be an incarnation of Vishnu's son, Vayu, as an incarnate saviour.^[278] Madhvism regards Vayu as Vishnu's agent in this world, and Hanuman, Bhima, and Madhvacharya to be his three incarnations; for this reason, the roles of Hanuman in the Ramayana and Bhima in the Mahabharata are emphasised, and Madhvacharya is particularly held in high esteem.^[279] Vayu is prominently shown by Madhva in countless texts.^[280]^[281]

The most striking difference between Sadh Vaishnavas and other Vaishnava groups lies in their interpretation of Vedas and their way of worship. While other Vaishnava groups deny the worship of Vedic deities such as Rudra, Indra etc., Sadh Vaishnavas worship all devatas including Lakshmi, Brahma, Vayu, Saraswati, Shiva (Rudra), Parvati, Indra, Subrahmanya and Ganesha as per "Taratamya". In fact, Madhvacharya in his Tantra Sara Sangraha clearly explained how to worship all devatas. In many of his works Madhvacharya also explained the Shiva Tattva, the procedure to worship Panchamukha Shiva (Rudra), the Panchakshari Mantra and even clearly explained why everyone should worship Shiva. Many prominent saints and scholars of Sadh Vaishnavism such as Vyasatirtha composed "Laghu Shiva Stuti", Narayana Panditacharya composed Shiva Stuti and Satyadharma Tirtha wrote a commentary on Sri Rudram (Namaka Chamaka) in praise of Shiva. Indologist B. N. K. Sharma says These are positive proofs of the fact that Madhvas are not bigots opposed to the worship of Shiva.^[282] Sharma says, Sadh Vaishnavism is more tolerant and accommodative of the worship of other gods such as Shiva, Parvati, Ganesha, Subrahmanya and others of the Hindu pantheon compared to other Vaishnava traditions. This is the reason why Kanaka Dasa though under the influence of Tathacharya in his early life did not subscribe wholly to the dogmas of Sri Vaishnavism against the worship of Shiva etc., and later became the disciple of Vyasatirtha.^[283]

The influence of Sadh Vaishnavism was most prominent on the Chaitanya school of Bengal Vaishnavism, whose devotees later started the devotional movement on the worship of Krishna as International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) - known colloquially as the Hare Krishna Movement.^[284] It is stated that Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1496–1534) was a disciple of Isvara Puri, who was a disciple of Madhavendra Puri, who was a disciple of Lakshmipati Tirtha, was a disciple of Vyasatirtha (1469–1539), of the Sadh Vaishnava Sampradaya of Madhvacharya.^[285] The Madhva school of thought also had a huge impact on Gujarat Vaishnava culture.^[286] The famous bhakti saint of Vallabha Sampradaya, Swami Haridas was a direct disciple of Purandara Dasa of Madhva Vaishnavism. Hence Sadh Vaishnavism also have some influence on Vallabha's Vaishnavism as well.^[287]

Gaudiya Vaishnavism

Gaudiya Vaishnavism, also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism^[288] and Hare Krishna, was founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1533) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gauḍa region (present day Bengal/Bangladesh) with Vaishnavism meaning "the worship of Vishnu or Krishna". Its philosophical basis is primarily that of the Bhagavad Gita and Bhagavata Purana.

The focus of Gaudiya Vaishnavism is the devotional worship (bhakti) of Radha and Krishna, and their many divine incarnations as the supreme forms of God, Svayam Bhagavan. Most popularly, this worship takes the form of singing Radha and Krishna's holy names, such as "Hare", "Krishna" and "Rama", most commonly in the form of the Hare Krishna (mantra), also known as kirtan. It sees the many forms of Vishnu or Krishna as expansions or incarnations of the one Supreme God.

After its decline in the 18-19th century, it was revived in the beginning of the 20th century due to the efforts of Bhaktivinoda Thakur. His son Srila Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati Thakura founded sixty-four Gaudiya Matha monasteries in India, Burma and Europe.^[289] Thakura's disciple Srila Prabhupada went to the west and spread Gaudiya Vaishnavism by the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON).

The Manipuri Vaishnavism is a regional variant of Gaudiya Vaishnavism with a culture-forming role among the Meitei people in the north-eastern Indian state of Manipur.^[290] There, after a short period of Ramaism penetration, Gaudiya Vaishnavism spread in the early 18th century, especially from beginning its second quarter. Raja Gharib Nawaz (Pamheiba) was initiated into the Chaitanya tradition. Most devotee ruler and propagandist of Gaudiya Vaishnavism, under the influence of Natottama Thakura's disciples, was raja Bhagyachandra, who has visited the holy for the Chaytanyaits Nabadwip.^[291]

Warkari tradition

The Warkari sampradaya is a non-Brahamanical^{[note 11]} bhakti tradition which worships Vithoba, also known as Vitthal, who is regarded as a form of Krishna/Vishnu. Vithoba is often depicted as a dark young boy, standing arms akimbo on a brick, sometimes accompanied by his main consort Rakhumai (a regional name of Krishna's wife Rukmini). The Warkari-tradition is geographically associated with the Indian state of Maharashtra.^[292]

The Warkari movement includes a duty-based approach towards life, emphasizing moral behavior and strict avoidance of alcohol and tobacco, the adoption of a strict lacto-vegetarian diet and fasting on Ekadashi day (twice a month), self-restraint (brahmacharya) during student life, equality and humanity for all rejecting discrimination based on the caste system or wealth, the reading of Hindu texts, the recitation of the Haripath every day and the regular practice of bhajan and kirtan. The most important festivals of Vithoba are held on the eleventh (ekadashi) day of the lunar months" Shayani Ekadashi in the month of Ashadha, and Prabodhini Ekadashi in the month of Kartik.^[292]

The Warkari poet-saints are known for their devotional lyrics, the abhang, dedicated to Vithoba and composed in Marathi. Other devotional literature includes the Kannada hymns of the Haridasa, and Marathi versions of the generic aarti songs associated with rituals of offering light to the deity. Notable saints and gurus of the Warkaris include Jñāneśvar, Namdev, Chokhamela, Eknath, and Tukaram, all of whom are accorded the title of Sant.

Though the origins of both his cult and his main temple are debated, there is clear evidence that they already existed by the 13th century. Various Indologists have proposed a prehistory for Vithoba worship where he was previously a hero stone, a pastoral deity, a manifestation of Shiva, a Jain saint, or even all of these at various times for various devotees.

Ramanandi tradition

The Ramanandi Sampradaya, also known as the Ramayats or the Ramavats,^[293] is one of the largest and most egalitarian Hindu sects in India, around the Ganges Plain, and Nepal today.^[294] It mainly emphasizes the worship of Rama,^[293] as well as Vishnu directly and other incarnations.^[295] Most Ramanandis consider themselves to be the followers of Ramananda, a Vaishnava saint in medieval India.^[296] Philosophically, they are in the Vishishtadvaita (IAST Viśiṣṭādvaita) tradition.^[293]

Its ascetic wing constitutes the largest Vaishnava monastic order and may possibly be the largest monastic order in all of India.^[297] Rāmānandī ascetics rely upon meditation and strict ascetic practices and believe that the grace of god is required for them to achieve liberation.

Northern Sant tradition

Kabir was a 15th-century Indian mystic poet and sant, whose writings influenced the Bhakti movement, but whose verses are also found in Sikhism's scripture Adi Granth.^[241]^[298]^[299] His early life was in a Muslim family, but he was strongly influenced by his teacher, the Hindu bhakti leader Ramananda, he becomes a Vaishnavite with universalist leanings. His followers formed the Kabir panth.^[241]^[1]^[300]^[298]^[301]

Dadu Dayal (1544—1603) was a poet-sant from Gujarat, a religious reformer who spoke against formalism and priestcraft. A group of his followers near Jaipur, Rajasthan, forming a Vaishnavite denomination that became known as the Dadu Panth.^[1]^[302]

Other traditions

Odia Vaishnavism

The Odia Vaishnavism (a.k.a. Jagannathism)—the particular cult of the god Jagannath (lit. ''Lord of the Universe'') as the supreme deity, an abstract form of Krishna, the Purushottama, and Para Brahman—was origined in the Early Middle Ages.^[303] Jagannathism was a regional state temple-centered version of Krishnaism,^[304] but can also be regarded as a non-sectarian syncretic Vaishnavite and all-Hindu cult.^[305] The notable Jagannath temple in Puri, Odisha became particularly significant within the tradition since about 800 CE.^[306]

Mahanubhava Sampradaya

The Mahanubhava Sampradaya/Pantha founded in Maharashtra during the period of 12-13th century. Sarvajna Chakradhar Swami a Gujarati acharya was the main propagator of this Sampradaya. The Mahanubhavas venere Pancha-Krishna ("five Krishnas"). Mahanubhava Pantha played essential role in the growth of Marathi literature.^[307]

Sahajiya and Baul tradition

Since 15th century in Bengal and Assam flourished Tantric Vaishnava-Sahajiya inspired by Bengali poet Chandidas, as well as related to it Baul groups, where Krishna is the inner divine aspect of man and Radha is the aspect of woman.^[308]

Ekasarana Dharma

The Ekasarana Dharma was propagated by Srimanta Sankardev in the Assam region of India.It considers Krishna as the only God.^[309] Satras are institutional centers associated with the Ekasarana dharma.^[310]^[311]

Radha-vallabha Sampradaya

The Radha-centered Radha Vallabh Sampradaya founded by the Mathura bhakti poet-saint Hith Harivansh Mahaprabhu in the 16th century occupies a unique place among other traditions. In its theology, Radha is worshiped as the supreme deity, and Krishna is in a subordinate position.^[312]

Pranami Sampradaya

The Pranami Sampradaya (Pranami Panth) emerged in the 17th century in Gujarat, based on the Radha-Krishna-focussed syncretic Hindu-Islamic teachings of Devchandra Maharaj and his famous successor, Mahamati Prannath.^[313]

Swaminarayan Sampradaya

The Swaminarayan Sampradaya was founded in 1801 in Gujarat by Sahajanand Swami from Uttar Pradesh, who is worshipped as Swaminarayan, the supreme manifestation of God, by his followers. The first temple built in Ahmedabad in 1822.^[314]