Hinduism today is usually described as having four main sampradayas: Shaiva (worshippers of Shiva), Vaishnava (of Vishnu and his avatars), Shakta (of the Goddess) and Smarta (who worship five deities together, Shiva, Vishnu, the Goddess, Surya and Ganesha, in the panchayatana puja). The Smarta tradition also counts the “Shanmata”, six paths of worship: Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shakta, Ganapatya (Ganesha), Saura (Surya) and Kaumara (Skanda), an arrangement tradition traces to Adi Shankaracharya. The count is a classification of living traditions, not a verse of scripture, and each sampradaya has many branches of its own.
| Name | Chief deity | Philosophy and texts | Schools and centres |
|---|---|---|---|
| ShaivaShaivism | Shiva | Shaiva Siddhanta, Kashmir Shaivism and other schools; the Shvetashvatara Upanishad, the Shaiva Agamas, the Shiva Purana | Pashupata, Shaiva Siddhanta, Kashmir Shaivism, Lingayat; the 12 Jyotirlingas |
| VaishnavaVaishnavism | Vishnu and his avatars, above all Rama and Krishna | Vishishtadvaita, Dvaita, Shuddhadvaita and others; the Bhagavad Gita, the Bhagavata Purana | Sri, Madhva, Nimbarka, Pushtimarg, Gaudiya, Ramanandi, Varkari |
| ShaktaShaktism | The Goddess (Shakti): Durga, Kali, Parvati and her other forms | Shakti as creator and creation; the Devi Mahatmya, the Shakta Tantras | Bengal and Assam; Kamakhya, the Shakti Peethas |
| SmartaSmartism | The panchayatana: Shiva, Vishnu, the Goddess, Surya, Ganesha | Advaita Vedanta (Adi Shankaracharya); the Vedas, smriti, the Puranas | The four Shankaracharya maths, above all Sringeri |
| GanapatyaWorshippers of Ganesha | Ganesha (Ganapati) | Holds Ganesha supreme; at its height around the 10th century | Ucchi Pillaiyar temple, Tiruchirappalli (the sect’s largest temple) |
| SauraWorshippers of Surya | Surya, the Sun | Moksha through worship of the rising, midday and setting Sun | All over India in the Gupta and medieval periods; the Sun temple at Multan (7th century) |
| KaumaraWorshippers of Skanda | Skanda (Kartikeya, Subrahmanya, Murugan) | The sixth path of the Shanmata; Skanda was identified with Murugan, the ancient god of the Tamils | South India, especially Tamil Nadu |
Four or six: where the count comes from
“Sampradaya” means a tradition handed down from teacher to pupil, and the doctrine taught in it (Monier-Williams Sanskrit dictionary). There is no single scriptural list of Hindu sampradayas; scholars and institutions count them in different ways.
Encyclopaedia Britannica calls Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism the three principal forms of modern Hinduism, and describes the Smartas as a separate sect whose members honour all the gods. The Himalayan Academy (a Hindu monastery in Hawaii) calls these four the “four denominations” of Hinduism.
The Shanmata (six paths) is a Smarta count. The Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham names them as Ganapatya, Shaiva, Shakta, Vaishnava, Kaumara and Saura and holds that Adi Shankaracharya established them. Each path keeps its own deity at the centre, but all are taken as forms of the one highest reality.
One household, many paths
These sampradayas are not sealed off from each other. In the Smarta panchayatana puja all five deities are worshipped together. According to Britannica most Vaishnavas, too, draw on several traditions and blend the worship of Vishnu with local practice, and Shaivism takes in countless folk forms alongside its philosophical schools.
The Shakta tradition is closely tied to the Shaiva: the Goddess is held to be supreme in her own right in some schools and the power (shakti) of Shiva in others. The Ganapatya and Saura traditions are less visible as separate sects today, but their deities are worshipped in almost every tradition: according to Britannica the Ganapatyas helped establish Ganesha as the god honoured at the start of every undertaking, and many Hindus chant the Gayatri mantra, a prayer to the Sun, every dawn.
Branches within each sampradaya
Among Vaishnavas, tradition counts four sampradayas (Sri, Brahma, Rudra and Sanakadi), and later traditions such as the Gaudiya, Ramanandi, Varkari and Swaminarayan arose. Among Shaivas, the Pashupata, Shaiva Siddhanta, Kashmir Shaiva and Lingayat schools are the main ones. The centres of the Smartas are the four amnaya maths of the Shankaracharyas. Each has its own page in this directory.
Where the sources differ
- The count: Britannica names Shaivism, Vaishnavism and Shaktism as the three principal forms and the Smartas as a separate sect; the Himalayan Academy counts all four equally as the “four denominations”.
- The deities of the Shanmata: the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham and the Himalayan Academy count six (Shiva, Vishnu, Shakti, Ganesha, Surya, Skanda); Britannica gives five for the Smarta panchayatana puja, without Skanda.
- Lingayats: according to Britannica, since the early 21st century some Lingayats have sought legal recognition as a religion distinct from Hinduism or, alternatively, as a caste within it.
Frequently asked questions
How many sampradayas are there in Hinduism?
Usually four main sampradayas are counted: Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shakta and Smarta. The Smarta tradition counts the six paths of the Shanmata: Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shakta, Ganapatya, Saura and Kaumara. Each sampradaya also has many sub-traditions, so there is no single final number.
What are the 4 sampradayas of Hinduism?
Shaiva (holding Shiva supreme), Vaishnava (devotees of Vishnu and his avatars Rama and Krishna), Shakta (worshippers of the Goddess) and Smarta (who worship the five deities of the panchayatana together, and follow the Advaita Vedanta of Adi Shankaracharya).
What is the Shanmata?
The Shanmata is the six paths of worship: Shaiva, Vaishnava, Shakta, Ganapatya, Saura and Kaumara, whose deities are Shiva, Vishnu, the Goddess, Ganesha, Surya and Skanda. The tradition of the Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham holds that Adi Shankaracharya established them.
Do Smartas worship several deities together?
Yes. In the panchayatana puja Smartas worship all five: Shiva, Vishnu, the Goddess, Surya and Ganesha. A family may favour one of them; according to Britannica, Shiva is especially favoured among Smartas today.
How many Vaishnava sampradayas are there?
Tradition counts four: Sri (Ramanuja), Brahma (Madhva), Rudra (Vishnuswami, Vallabha) and Sanakadi (Nimbarka). They are described on the page “The four Vaishnava sampradayas”.
Sources
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: “Shaivism”, “Vaishnavism”, “Shaktism”, “Smarta sect”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: “Gāṇapatya”, “Saura sect”, “Skanda”, “Murugan”, “Lingayat”
- Encyclopaedia Britannica: “Hinduism: Vaishnavism and Shaivism”, “Hinduism: Tantric traditions and Shaktism”
- Himalayan Academy (Kauai’s Hindu Monastery): “The Four Denominations of Hinduism”
- Shri Kanchi Kamakoti Peetham (kamakoti.org): “Our Heritage: Ganapatyam”, the list of the Shanmata
- Monier-Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary: “sampradāya”
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