Conclusion
Va i s.n.ava traditions did not develop in themselves and by themselves. They were
under constant pressure from political and socioeconomic powers which con-
siderably influenced them as protectors, as in the case of the early Bha ̄gavata
tradition, but sometimes also as controllers. For instance, the fortunes of rival
S ́rı ̄vais.n.ava tendencies may have varied according to the support of Vijayanagar
kings (Appadurai 1977). Another illustration is the political instrumentalization
of the notion ofcatuh.samprada ̄ya(“fourfold tradition” of Vais.n.avism which refers
to the traditions of Ra ̄ma ̄nuja, Vis.n.usva ̄min, Nimba ̄rka, and Madhva) by the
rulers of Rajasthan in the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries (Clémentin-Ojha
1999).
The perception of Vais.n.avism as a single religion with an homogenous devel-
opment can only be an ideal view. The notion of Vais.n.avism partly corroborated
by comparatively late Indian doxographies and adopted by modern scholarship,
corresponds in fact to the aggregation of a multitude of varied traditions. The
above overview shows the successive rise of Vais.n.ava traditions (and sometimes,
their reappearance in another form) and their multiple aspects. This is because
these traditions had to cater for a variety of human needs in terms of devotion,
rituals, doctrine, and these furthermore towards a chosen divine aspect. Again,
our comprehension of Vais.n.avism according to its successive tendencies depends
on extant historical evidence which project to forefront merely fragmented and
crystallized images of Vais.n.ava traditions. This should not hide the fact that such
trends as asceticism, devotion, image worship probably coexisted at the same
time in Vais.n.avism, though the texts do not give them equal importance.
Only critical research can disentangle a historical perspective from textual
views. A comprehensive study of the multifarious and often biaised descriptions
and classifications of Vais.n.ava traditions in Vais.n.ava Sanskrit and vernacular
texts, as well as a complete historical study of such vital themes as the notion of
guruor of initiation in the different Vais.n.ava traditions, are required. A method-
ical evaluation of the influence of these traditions on each other and on other
traditions, as well as that of the non-Vais.n.ava traditions on Vais.n.ava traditions,
would help to locate them more precisely in Indian religions.
More or less institutionalized traditions form only a part of religious culture.
These structures which we tried to circumscribe are, so to say, superficial. Larger
socioreligious realities in fact nourish them: patrons and devotees form the core
of historical Vais.n.avism. This continuously changing social substance facilitated
influences and conversions and partly explains the growth and decay of these
traditions.
Acknowledgments
I would like to thank C. Clémentin-Ojha for her observations on a first draft of
this chapter. Unfortunately M. Rastelli’s article on the pañca ka ̄las (Wiener
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