Major Hindu tradition that reveres Vishnu as the Supreme Being
"Vaishnav" redirects here. For the Olympic sailor from France, see Vaishnav (sailor).
Vaishnavism
Vaishnava traditions centre on Hindu god Vishnu (centre) and his avatars.
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Vaishnavism (Sanskrit: वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, romanized: Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism.[1] It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, Mahavishnu.[2][3] Its followers are called Vaishnavites or Vaishnavas (IAST: Vaiṣṇava), and it includes sub-sects like Krishnaism and Ramaism, which consider Krishna and Rama as the supreme beings respectively.[4][5]
According to a 2010 estimate by Johnson and Grim, Vaishnavism is the largest Hindu sect, constituting about 641 million or 67.6% of Hindus.[6][7]
The ancient emergence of Vaishnavism is unclear, and broadly hypothesized as a fusion of various regional non-Vedic religions with worship of Vishnu. It is considered a merger of several popular non-Vedic theistic traditions, particularly the Bhagavata cults of Vāsudeva-krishna[8][9] and Gopala-Krishna,[8][10] as well as Narayana,[11] developed in the 7th to 4th century BCE.[8][12] It was integrated with the Vedic God Vishnu in the early centuries CE, and finalized as Vaishnavism,[8][13][14] 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.[15][16][17]
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.[18][19] It has four Vedanta-schools of numerous denominations (sampradaya): the medieval-era Vishishtadvaita school of Ramanuja, the Dvaita school of Madhvacharya, the Dvaitadvaita school of Nimbarkacharya, and the Shuddhadvaita of Vallabhacharya.[20][21] There are also several other Vishnu-traditions. Ramananda (14th century) created a Rama-oriented movement, now the largest monastic group in Asia.[22][23]
Key texts in Vaishnavism include the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Pancharatra (Agama) texts, Naalayira Divya Prabhandham, and the Bhagavata Purana.[6][24][25][26]
^Dandekar 1987.
^Pratapaditya Pal (1986). Indian Sculpture: Circa 500 BCE–700 CE. University of California Press. pp. 24–25. ISBN 978-0-520-05991-7.
^Stephan Schuhmacher (1994). The Encyclopedia of Eastern Philosophy and Religion: Buddhism, Hinduism, Taoism, Zen. Shambhala. p. 397. ISBN 978-0-87773-980-7.
^Hardy 1987.
^Flood 1996, p. 117.
^ abCite error: The named reference johnson400 was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^"Chapter 1 Global Religious Populations" (PDF). January 2012. Archived from the original (PDF) on 20 October 2013.
^ abcdDandekar 1987, p. 9499.
^"Vaishnava". philtar.ucsm.ac.uk. Archived from the original on 12 February 2012. Retrieved 22 May 2008.
^Flood 1996, p. 120.
^Flood 1996, p. 119,120-121.
^Eliade, Mircea; Adams, Charles J. (1987). The Encyclopedia of religion. Macmillan. p. 168. ISBN 978-0-02-909880-6.
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,...
Gaudiya Vaishnavism (IAST: Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya...
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Vaishnav Girish (born 21 June 2002) is an Indian singer and live performer. He has appeared in several singing reality TV shows and has recorded songs...
rendering support, you may see errors in display. Manipuri Vaishnavism, also known as Meitei Vaishnavism (Manipuri: ꯚꯩꯁꯅꯚ ꯂꯥꯏꯅꯤꯡ, romanized: Bheisnabh Lāinīng...
Sadh Vaishnavism (Sanskrit: सद्वैष्णवसम्प्रदाय), (popularly referred as Madhva Sampradaya, Madhva Vaishnavism and Brahma Sampradaya), is a denomination...
Panja Vaishnav Tej (born 13 January 1995) is an Indian actor who works in Telugu films. He made his debut as a lead in the romantic drama Uppena (2021)...
of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is...
Internet Archive Gaudiya Vaishnavism – The Tradition of Chaitanya Caitanya Upanisad Caitanya Bhagavata Biography Gaudiya Vaishnavism – The Tradition of Chaitanya...
DG Vaishnav College (Dwaraka Doss Goverdhan Doss Vaishnav College), commonly known as DDGDVC, is a Liberal arts, commerce and science college in Chennai...
categorized into four major theistic Hindu traditions: Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. Vaishnavism, Shaivism, and Shaktism worship the Hindu deities...
are among the earliest known evidence of Krishna-Vasudeva devotion and Vaishnavism in ancient India. The Heliodorus inscription is not isolated evidence...
Vaishnav College may refer to: DG Vaishnav College, Chennai, India M.O.P. Vaishnav College for Women, Chennai, India This disambiguation page lists articles...
Lal Vaishnav, a 50-year-old Hindu temple priest was killed in Bukna village, Rajasthan. Kailash Meena allegedly burnt Vaishnav alive after Vaishnav tried...
Para-Brahman in this Sampradaya. Its modern form is Haridasa and Sadh Vaishnavism. Gaudiya Vaishnavism (Chaitanya Sampradaya) adheres to the teachings of Chaitanya...
identified with Vaishnavism. Under the rule of the Eastern Gangas, Vaishnavism became the predominant faith in Odisha. Odia Vaishnavism gradually centred...
other topics, in textual sources. The major Hindu denominations are Vaishnavism, Shaivism, Shaktism, and the Smarta tradition. The six Āstika schools...
traditions, along with different sectarian religions, notably Shaivism, Vaishnavism, and Shaktism that were within the orthodox fold yet still formed distinct...
Vaishno Devi (also known as Mata Rani, Trikuta, Ambe and Vaishnavi) is a manifestation of the Hindu mother goddess Lakshmi sometimes in some beliefs Vaishno...
systems within this material universe (Brahmanda). In Gauḍīya Vaishnavism, a school of Vaiṣhṇavism, the Satvata-tantra describes three different forms, or aspects...
reformer. He is noted to be one of the most important exponents of the Sri Vaishnavism tradition within Hinduism. His philosophical foundations for devotionalism...
deity, follow Vaishnavism, and for them, Kanyaka is an incarnation of the goddess Lakshmi. This historical tradition stemmed when Vaishnavism spread southwards...
of the Mahabharata and is considered to be of great significance in Vaishnavism. The Sanskrit word "हरि" (Hari) is derived from the Proto-Indo-European...
Minoti Vaishnav (born November 19, 1987) is an Indian–born American screenwriter, songwriter, and entertainment producer. Born in Mumbai , she moved to...