Pushtimarg (the Vallabha sampradaya)

What Pushtimarg is

Pushtimarg worship centres on the deeds of the young Krishna told in the tenth book of the Bhagavata Purana. According to Britannica, on this path the highest devotion is reached only through divine grace (pushti); personal efforts such as good deeds or religious observances are not held to be essential. God is worshipped not through fasting and bodily austerity but through love of him and of his world.

According to Britannica the sampradaya is prominent in northern and western India, especially among merchant communities, and is known for the deep reverence paid to its gurus.

History in brief

Vallabhacharya was born in 1479 into a Vaishnava Brahmin family of Telugu origin, in the Raipur area of central India; the Encyclopedia of Religion and the sampradaya’s own sources give his birthplace as Champaranya, and Britannica as Chaudanagar near Raipur. He initiated his first disciple at Mathura in 1493, and the Braj country around Mathura became the centre of his work. There, on Mount Govardhan, he found the stone image of Krishna called Shri Govardhananathaji, Shrinathji for short; by tradition Shrinathji revealed himself to him.

He had two sons, Gopinatha (1512–1543) and Vitthalanatha (1516–1586), called Gusainji. Late in life Vallabhacharya became a sannyasi, and he died at Varanasi in 1531. After him first Gopinatha and then Vitthalanatha led the sampradaya. Each of Vitthalanatha’s sons founded his own branch and temple, and leadership of these branches still passes by descent; the sampradaya’s leaders are addressed as “Maharaj”. The temple at Nathdwara dates from the 17th century.

Beliefs and practice

Shuddhadvaita: Brahman is Krishna, and God and the world are one; the world is not declared an illusion. Liberation comes only by God’s grace, and to receive that love the devotee must surrender wholly (samarpana) to God.

Brahmasambandha: according to the Encyclopedia of Religion, Krishna appeared to Vallabhacharya in a vision in Braj and gave him the Brahmasambandha mantra, which brings the soul into direct relation with the supreme Brahman; this mantra is still the main part of the sampradaya’s initiation. The sampradaya’s tradition places the event at midnight on Shravana Shukla Ekadashi at Gokul, and holds that Vallabha’s work Siddhanta-rahasya describes it.

Seva: followers of Pushtimarg use the word “seva” (service) rather than “puja”, and call the temple a “haveli”, Krishna’s house. Special festivals mark the seasons, the events of Krishna’s life and the birthdays of Vallabha and Vitthalanatha.

Branches and lineage

Vitthalanatha’s sons gave rise to the sampradaya’s separate branches, each with its own temple; Britannica says seven sons, the Encyclopedia of Religion eight. Their descendants still lead these branches. The sampradaya counts eight poets as its “Ashtachhap” (eight seals), with Surdas held to be the foremost.

Main centres

The temple of Shrinathji at Nathdwara (Rajasthan, about 40 km north of Udaipur) is the sampradaya’s main temple. In Braj, Mathura, Gokul and Govardhan are tied to Vallabhacharya’s life.

Where the sources differ

• Birthplace: Britannica gives Chaudanagar near Raipur; the Encyclopedia of Religion (Raipur district) and the sampradaya’s sources give Champaranya.
• Vitthalanatha’s sons: Britannica gives seven sons, each of whom founded his own temple; the Encyclopedia of Religion (R. K. Barz) writes of eight sons and eight branches.
• Succession: Britannica says Vitthalanatha succeeded Vallabha; according to the Encyclopedia of Religion first Gopinatha and then Vitthalanatha led the sect.
• Surdas and the Ashtachhap: the sampradaya’s tradition holds Surdas to be Vallabha’s disciple and foremost of the Ashtachhap; according to Britannica many historians find the link doubtful, since Surdas’s early poems do not mention Vallabha.
• Tilak: sources describe the Pushtimarg tilak differently (a single vertical red line, or two lines joined at the base); we did not find one reliable description.
• Year of death: Britannica gives 1531; one sampradaya source gives “around 1530”.

Frequently asked questions