History of Samnyasa,” Journal of the American Oriental
Society 101 (1981): 265–274; ———, Renunciation in
Hinduism: A Mediaeval Debate, 2 vols. (Vienna: Univer-
sity of Vienna, 1986–87).
Vaisheshika See NYAYA-VAISHESHIKA.
Vaishnavism
Vaishavism is the name for the group of traditions
that adhere to the worship of VISHNU. An adher-
ent of Vaishnavism is a Vaishnavite, “One who
belongs to Vishnu.”
Vishnu can be worshipped alone as Mahav-
ishnu or “Supreme Vishnu,” but Vaishnavites
more commonly worship one of the two most
prominent AVATARS or manifestations of the god-
head, RAMA or KRISHNA, along with their respec-
tive consorts, SITA or RADHA. To be sure, every
Vaishnavite reveres all 10 of Vishnu’s avatars.
As all Hindu traditions do, Vaishnavism traces
itself back to the VEDAS and honors them as the
ultimate authority. Vishnu, “The All-Pervad-
ing,” is only a minor divinity in the Vedas, but
the roots of a devotional cult that can be called
Vaishnavite had been established by the later
Vedic period in the sixth or fifth century B.C.E.
The MAHABHARATA and RAMAYANA epics are both
primarily Vaishnavite documents, highlighting
the stories of Krishna and Rama, respectively.
The BHAGAVAD GITA within the Mahabharata
is a sophisticated philosophical text that outlines
the Vaishnavite path of devotion in the context of
Vedic and UPANISHADic visions of the divinity. The
later temple-oriented Vaishnavism is based largely
on the ancient PANCHARATRA tradition.
The followers of Vaishnavism are many fewer
than those of Shaivism, numbering perhaps 200
million. If there is a distinctive character to Vaish-
navism, aside from its doctrine of the avatar, it is
in its commitment to the life of a householder.
There are far fewer renunciants in the Vaishnavite
sect than among the Shaivites. (Vishnu, after all,
is the “preserver” of the world, whereas Shiva
himself is a naked renunciant who is the world
destroyer.)
Six sects of the Vaishnavites are prominent:
the Shrivaishnavas founded in SHRIRANGAM in
Tamil Nadu, best known for their great 12th-cen-
tury teacher RAMANUJA; the Gaudiya Vaishnavites
of Bengal, founded by the great 15th-century
devotional mystic CHAITANYA; the Vallabhas or
Rudrasampradaya founded at BRINDAVAN in the
north by the great teacher VALLABHA around the
15th century; the MADHVA sect founded in the
state of Karnataka at Udipi in the 13th century;
the NIMBARKA, or Nimbarki sect, based in Govard-
hana and founded by the 15th-century Vedantin
philosopher Nimbarka; and the Sri sect founded
by Ramananda, who was strongly influenced by
the Ramanuja lineage, at AYODHYA.
Textually, Vaishnavites revere, in addition to
the Vedas and Upanishads, the epics, the BHAGA-
VA D GITA, the Vishnu Purana, the BHAGAVATA
PURANA, and the hymns of the ALVARS or other
poet-saints of Vaishnavism. They focus, as does
Shaivism, on temple worship, with, of course,
their own distinctive ritual elements. PRASADA
in the form of “blessed food” is typically dis-
tributed at Vaishnavite temples and shrines and
festivals after being offered to the divinity. This
giving of blessed food is less common in Shaivite
contexts.Further reading: R. G. Bhandarkar, Vaishnavism, Saivism
and Minor Religious Systems (Varanasi: Indological Book
House, 1965); Manju Dube, Conceptions of God in
Vaishnava Philosophical Systems (Varanasi: Sanjay Book
Centre, 1984); Jan Gonda, Aspects of Early Vishnuism
(Utrecht: A. Oosthoek, 1954); ———, Vishnuism and
Sivaism: A Comparison. Jordan Lectures in Comparative
Religion, no. 9 (London: Athlone Press, 1970); T. Ren-
garajan, Dictionary of Vaishnavism (Delhi: Eastern Book
Linkers, 2004).K 474 Vaisheshika