Section V

THE BHAKTI MOVEMENTS (1200-1800 AD)

This section deals with the prominent saints in the said period from different parts of India.

PROMINENT SAINTS FROM NORTH INDIA

Some of the prominent saints from the northern part of India include Ramananda, Kabir, Tulsidas, Mirabai,
Guru Nanak, among others. A few are described below.

I. KABIR (1440-1518)
Kabir was a mystic poet and saint of India, whose writings have greatly influenced the Bhakti
movement. Apart from having an important influence on Sikhism, Kabir’s legacy is today carried forward by
the Kabir Parth (“Path of Kabir”) – a religious community that recognizes him as its founder. The Kabir
Panthis are believed to be many lakhs in number.
Kabir’s parents are unknown. He was found as an infant by a young Muslim couple – Niru and Nima.
They were weavers and they taught him weaving. Though he grew up in a Muslim home, he did not entirely
accept the Muslim way of life – he did not accept the concept of sacrifice of animals or circumcision.
From a very young age, he was given to religious thought and meditation. Swami Ramanand, a
Hindu, was his guru. As he grew up, he continued with weaving and he composed many bhajans (hymns),
shabdas (songs) and sakhi (couplet/dohas – two liners). Sakhi means “witness” (these poems were
envisioned to be witnesses to the truth). People began to gather around him to listen to his singing and
preaching.
He often criticized the uselessness of empty formal rituals and practices. He was fearless in his
criticisms on caste. It is said that probably there is no other Indian poet/author whose verses are on the lips
of North India, with the possible exception of Tulsidas.
He criticized the priests of both Hinduism and Islam for their materialistic, commercial kind of life-
styles – for they were not interested in instructing the people about true spirituality, but was only looking
for personal gain. He attacked them for the evil deeds, which sometimes included murder. He wanted the
people to turn away from empty ritualism of religion and to show the inner path of union with the Divine.
Kabir, in this sense, was also a prophet.
He was also influenced by the Bhakti tradition of Hinduism, advaita and few certain doctrines of
Islam, e.g., the imageless nature of God. He is said to be the first Indian saint who harmonized both Islam
and Hinduism by preaching a universal path that both the Hindus and Muslims could tread together.
According to Kabir, all life is interplay of two spiritual principles – one is the jivatma (personal soul)
and the other is god (parmatma). Salvation is the process of bringing these two divine principles into union.
He emphasized loving devotion to the foemless Divine power that dwells within. He emphasized bhakti,
karma and jnana.
A number of his verses have been incorporated by the fifth Sikh guru Guru Arjan Dev into Sikh
scripture (Guru Granth Sahib); he is therefore considered by some scholars to be the fore-runner of
Sikhism.
What he taught was not from books; but from his own observations and experiences and ideas he
had gathered from different religious traditions. Kabir’s songs and sayings were pithy, well-connected to
the contexts of the common people, full of humour and sometimes sarcasm. His poems were
communicated in Hindu, which also borrowed from dialects like Avadhi, Braj and Bhojpuri. His verses often
began with some strongly worded insult to get the attention of passers-by. It is said that much of his works
were written down by two of his disciples – Bhagodas and Dharmadas; but most of it was passed on in the
form of oral tradition.
Some of his sayings are as follows:

“Water does rest in high places, but only in the low.

 If pride prevents you from bending low, you will go thirsty,”

“Keep your critic close to you; even shelter him in your courtyard.
As without water and soup he cleanses and purifies your character.”

“Make the whole earth into paper, and all forest into pens and the seven oceans into ink,
Yet you cannot describe the greatness of God.”

“In suffering all invoke the lord, but none does in happiness.
How can one suffer if he remembers the Lord in happiness as well?”

Kabir has been noteworthy in many spheres

i. He has been hailed as the father of Hindi poetry; he conveyed spiritual ideas in the language of
the common people-Hindi; his couplets and songs are still famous.
ii. He was the initiator of the Sant Mat – keeping the company of saintly people. Now there are
various branches of Sant Mat around the world.
iii. He was the founder of a nirgun school of bhakti – loving devotion to a formless supreme being.
iv. He introduced Sahaj Yoga – easy union with god. This led to sahaj samadhi or realization of
one’s unity with god.
v. He strongly emphasized vegetarinianism – based on the idea that one must not harm any living
being.
He laid great stress in realization of the self/soul- that is the manifestation of divinity on all of us.
This realization produces enlightenment and release from the clutches of maya.
Kabir was not preaching against any religion, but against the hypocrisy being committed by people
in the name of religion. His objectives were:
i. To detach people from worldly bondage, maya and passions born out of desires and to attach
them to God.
ii. He wished all people to attain the same realization of unity with the divine Being.
iii. He taught purity in thought, word and deed in order to attain god realization.
iv. He taught to merge on god as a drop merge in god as a drop merges in the ocean and to lose
one’s individual identity.
v. He taught universal and unconditional love for all of god’s creation.
vi. He tried to expose the futility of believing in different religions castes, beliefs, etc…, for a true
saint understands that all souls are the same and that god is dwelling in every heart. The saint
sees god in all and remains impartial to the various religions.

II. TULSIDAS (1497/1532-1623)

Tulsidas was a Hindu poet-saint, reformer and philosopher renowned for his devotion to Ram. He
composed many popular works, including Ramcharitramanas – a retelling of the Sanskrit Ramayana – in
Awadhi. Even during his life, he was acclaimed to be an incarnation of Valmiki. He is also considered to be
the composer of the Hanuman Chalisa, a popular devotional hymn dedicated to Hanuman. Tulsidas lived
and died in Varanasi and the Tulsi Ghat is named after him. He founded the Sankatmochan temple
dedicated to Hanuman in Varanasi, after having received a vision of hanuman. Tulsidas started the Ramlila
plays, a folk theatre adaptation of Ramanaya. He is considered to be one of the greatest poets in Hindi,
Indian and world literature. His impact on art, culture and society in India is widespread.
Tulsidas believed to have been born in UP to Brahmin parents. There is wide range of opinion
regarding the year of his birth. Legends believes that Tulsidas was born with the name of Ram on his lips
and therefore was called Rambola. It is believed that because of his inauspicious astrological configuration,
he was abandoned by his parents. He was taken care of by a servant and then by goddess Parvati, who took
the form of a Brahmin lady. He was then adopted by Narharidas, a disciple of Ramananda and taught along
Vaishnaivite lines. Tulsidas later came to Varanasi and studied the Vedas and other literature for 15-16
years.
 It is said that he was married to Ratnavali, but later, he renounced grishasta and became a sanyasi.
After renunciation he spent most of his time a Varanasi, Prayag, Ayodhya and Chitrakuta and also travelled
to different places in India.
Tulsidas hints at several places in his works, that he had met face-to-face with Hanuman and Ram.
It was a particular preta that led him to Hanuman, who then led him to Ram. (At the beginning of the
Ramcharitramanas, Tulsidas bows down to this preta and asks for his grace.) Tulsidas is believed to have
worked miracles. Miracles like that of resurrection (of a Brahmin man); of creating and chanting Hanuman
Chalisa for 40 days which brought a monkey army upon Akbar and harassed him, until he was released
Tulsidas whom he had put in prison, for not performing a miracle at his bidding.
Tulsidas’ doctrines is believed to be an assimilation of diverse beliefs and cultures of Hinduism. At
the beginning of the Ramcharitrananas, he claims to be faithful to be Puranas, the Vedas, Tantra and Smriti.
He believes that nirguna and saguna Brahman to be the same – he uses the example of water, snow and
hail to explain that though the substance is the same, water is formless, while others have forms.
He gives great importance to Ram bhakti - even repeating the name of Ram is enough to attain god.
He sometimes portrays Ram as greater than Brahman and Vishnu – this is indirectly conveyed in the
Ramacharitramanas. According to him, Ram is not one of the avatars; he is the source of avatars.
Ram is considered to be the creator of the universe. He sometimes portrays the world to be a
product of Ram’s maya or Ram’s lila. He identifies maya with Sita, the inseparable energy of Ram, which
takes avatar along with Ram. Tulsidas does allow the worship of other gods alongside Ram. A number of his
verses are composed in praise of other gods.
Bhakti – single-minded devotion and surrender of self in perfect love…relieves one from karma.

III. MIRABAI
Meerabai was a great poet saint and devotee of Sri Krishna. Despite criticism and hostility from her
own family, she lived an exemplary saintly life and composed many devotional bhajans, many of which are
famous to the day. Historical information about her life is a matter of scholarly debate. The oldest
biographical account was Priyadas’s works in 1712.
Meera was born into an aristocratic (royal) family in Rajasthan. It is believed that at a very young
age, she was gifted with an idol of Krishna; she became attached to this idol and made Krishna her lifelong
friend, lover and husband. It is said that once while she was still a child, she witnessed a marriage
procession and enquired where her husband was, to which her mother replied that she already had one -
Krishna.
She was married to prince Bhoj Raj, eldest son of Rana Sanga of Chittor. She served her husband
dutifully, but not was enamoured by the luxuries around her. She spent a lot of her time in devotion and
singing to Krishna and would often enter states of ecstasy and trance.
She had problems with her family, for she refused to worship Durga, the family deity. They
disapproved of her excessive devotion to Krishna. But her saintly reputation began to spread. She often
spent time discussing spiritual matters with sadhus and people gathered to sing and hear her bhajans.
Legend has that Akbar disguised himself as a beggar and travelled with Tansen in order to meet Meerabai.
He was very impressed with her devotion and her bhajans. When her husband heard that his enemy has
seen her, he wanted her to commit suicide. But Krishna instructed her to leave for Brindavan, where she
would worship him in peace. Later, her husband repented and brought her back. But at his death, her
father-in –law commanded her to commit sati. But she said that her real husband, Krishna is not dead. Her
family continued to persecute her; legend has it that they tried to kill her on many occasions, but she was
miraculously saved.
She later, along with some of her followers, returned to Bridavan. There she spent her time in
singing bhajans and in ecstatic communion with Krishna. She considered herself a gopi of Brindavan made
only with pure love for Krishna.
Her spirituality and spiritual magnetism were infectious and even learned sadhus came to her for
inspiration. Her poetry expressed the longing and seeking of her soul for union with Krishna. At times she
expressed the pain of separation and at other times the ecstasy of divine union. Her songs are said to infuse
faith, courage, devotion and love of God into the hearts of Bhaktas.
PROMINENT SAINTS FROM WESTERN INDIA

I. DNYANESWARA (1275-1296)
Dnyaneshwar was a 13th century Maharashtrian Hindu saint, poet, philosopher, whose works Bhavartha
Deepika (a commentary on the Bhagvad Gita, also known as Dnyaneshwari) and Amrutanubhav are
considered to be very important pieces of literature in Marathi.
Dnyaneshwar was one among four children born to his parents, who were very religious in nature.
He dedicated himself to celibacy and a life of learning at a very young age. It is said that he completed his
commentary on Bhagvad Gita at a very young age (some say 15). It is a masterpiece in Marathi literature,
because it (all the 18 chapters) has been composed in a metre called “ovi.” By writing the commentary in
Marathi, he unlocked the divine knowledge locked in Sanskrit, and made it available to a wider public.
His two brothers and sister were also learned in religious and philosophical matters and composed
songs and writings of their own. It is said that Dnyaneshwar started/ built the bhakti movement in
Maharashtra and Tukaram is said to have raised this to the next level. Dnyaneshwar is said to have
introduced the Varkari movement (or Vithala Sampradaya – a duty-based approach to life emphasizing
moral behavior and strict avoidance of alcohol and tobacco, strict vegetarian diet, fastings, rejecting all
kinds of discriminations, reading of holy books, bhajans and kirtan) of Pandharpur. Every year, lakhs of
devotees travel from Alandi to Pandharpur in June and July. This distance of around 228km is covered in
around 18 days.
After having composed Amrutamubhava, it is said that Dnyaneshwar made a pilgrimage to
northern India. After completing his pligrimage, he expressed his intention to enter into Samadhi. It is said
that at the age of 21, he entered into Samadhi at Alandi.
Some of the holy books of Bhagvata Sampradaya contain miracles performed by Dnyaneshwar like
baking bread on his heated back, making a wall move etc.

II. NAMDEV (1270-1350)

Namdev (or Namdeo) is another of the important saints of Maharashtra. He is unique because he travelled
outside Maharashtra, and even today has followers in Punjab and Haryana. Most of the information about
Namdeo comes from a numbers of songs that are known after his name.
Namdeo’s parents were running a cloth shop. They were devotees of Vithala and undertook
pilgrimages to Pandharpur. Their village is in Vidarbha. There is a story about his childhood that milk
offered in Keshavraj temple was drunk by the diety because of Namdeo’s devotion.
Namdeo was married at an early age; but he was sincere and staunch devotee of Pandurang. His
family members tried to persuade him to be interested in family affairs, but to no avail. He spent most of
his day in the temple in worship and meditation of god. It is said that poverty at home caused his wife to
commit suicide on more than one occasion; but legend has it that god Pandurang stopped her and provided
for her.
He later moved to Pandharpur and it is said that Pandurang met with him and talked to him. This
increased his following and people even bowed to him after having bowed down to Pandurang. He later
accepted Vishoba Khechar as his guru, who taught him an advaitic worldview – god is everything.
Namdeo is said to have stayed in Punjab for around 20 years. 61 songs composed by Namdeo in
Hindi and Punjabi are part of the Guru Granth Sahib. Namdeo is also believed to have travelled to Gujarat
and attained a large following even there. The songs in the Granth Sahib do talk about Vithal and also
Namdeo ‘s childhood story/miracle of milk being drunk by an idol. Guru Nanak came around 200 years after
Namdeo and it seems these songs were famous among the people of Punjab. In Gurdaspur district of
Punjab there is a memorial called Gurudvara Baba Namdeoji. The people managing this place claim to be
descendants of Bahordas, a disciple of Namdeo. The whole population of this place consists of followers of
Namdeo, they call themselves ‘Bawas’.
 All the followers of Namdeo in Punjab were tailors by caste. They grow long hair, wear a bangle,
have a comb in the hair; but they never keep a weapon and they are strict vegetarians. They use a thread
and marriages are conducted according to Vedic rituals.
A number of miracles are also attributed to Namdeo.

II. TUKARAM (1608-1645)

Tukaram was a prominent Varkari sant and spiritual poet during the bhakti movement in India. Tukaram
was born and lived most of his life in Dehu near Pune. He is believed to be of the grocer class. He is believed
to be one of the greatest poet-saints born in India and contributed greatly to the bhakti movement in India.
He was married twice. His first wife died of starvation during a period of severe famine. His second wife
constantly nagged him for not taking care of family. Tortured by the death of his first wife, the constant
nagging of his second wife and the failure of his own spiritual quest, Tukaram went into a depression. By
the age of 21, he lost all hopes and was at the threshold of death. At this point he had a dream, where
Babaji Chaitanya initiated him into a spiritual path.
Some of Tukaram’s teachings included:
i. An individual should make god the center of his/her universe. Serving and loving others is the best
way of finding god.
ii. One needs to have faith in his/her destiny.
iii. It is not necessary that one renounce the world and lead the life of an ascetic in order to be one
with god.
iv. Spirituality does not require elaborate rituals.
v. Nama japa is the most important privilege of the devotee.
vi. Traditions are often a hindrance in attaining love of god. Sometimes one has to break traditions.

PROMINENT SAINTS FROM THE EAST AND NORTHEAST

I. CHAITANYA MAHAPRABHU
Caitanya (1486–1534) was a Vaishnava saint and social reformer in eastern India (specifically present-day
Bangladesh and states of West Bengal, Bihar, Jharkhand, Manipur, Assam, and Orissa of India) in the 16th
century, worshipped by followers of Gaudiya Vaishnavism as the full incarnation of Lord Krishna. Sri Krishna
Chaitanya was a notable proponent for the Vaishnava school of Bhakti yoga (meaning loving devotion to
Krishna), based on the philosophy of the Bhagavata Purana and Bhagavad Gita. Specifically, he worshipped
the forms of Krishna, popularised the chanting of the Hare Krishna maha mantra and composed the
Siksastakam (eight devotional prayers) in Sanskrit. His line of followers, known as Gaudiya Vaishnavas,
revere him as an avatar of Krishna in the mood of Radharani who was prophesied to appear in the later
verses of the BhagavataPurana.
He was also sometimes referred to by the names Gaura (Sanskrit for golden), due to his fair
complexion, and Nimai due to his being born underneath a Neem tree. There are numerous biographies
available from the time giving details of Chaitanya's life, the most prominent ones being the Chaitanya
Charitamrita of Krishnadasa Kaviraja Goswami, the earlier Chaitanya Bhagavata of Vrindavana Dasa (both
originally written in Bengali but now widely available in English and other languages), and the Chaitanya
Mangala, written by Lochana Dasa. In addition to these there are other Sanskrit biographies composed by
his contemporaries. Chief among them are the literary masterpiece, Sri Chaitanya Charitamritam
Mahakavyam by Kavi Karnapura and Sri Krishna Chaitanya Charitamritam by Murari Gupta.
According to Chaitanya Charitamrita, his parents named him 'Vishvambhar'. Sri Chaitanya was the
second son of Jagannath Mishra and his wife Sachi Devi who lived in the town of Nabadwip in Nadia, West
Bengal. Chaitanya's ancestry is a contentious issue between the people of Orissa and West Bengal with
Shree Chaitanya having family roots in Jajpur, Orissa and Bengal.
In his youth, Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was primarily known as an erudite scholar, whose learning and
skills in argumentation in his locality were second to none. Gopinath Mukhopadhyay was his private tutor
during those days. A number of stories also exist telling of Chaitanya's apparent attraction to the chanting
and singing of Krishna's names from a very young age, but largely this was perceived as being secondary to
his interest in acquiring knowledge and studying Sanskrit. When traveling to Gaya to perform the shraddha
ceremony for his departed father Chaitanya met his guru, the ascetic Ishvara Puri, from whom he received
initiation with the Gopala Krishna mantra. This meeting was to mark a significant change in Mahaprabhu's
outlook and upon his return to Bengal the local Vaishnavas, headed by Advaita Acharya, were stunned at
his external sudden 'change of heart' (from 'scholar' to 'devotee') and soon Chaitanya became the eminent
leader of their Vaishnava group within Nadia.
After leaving Bengal and receiving entrance into the sannyasa order by Keshava Bharati, Chaitanya
journeyed throughout the length and breadth of India for several years, chanting the divine Names of
Krishna constantly. He spent the last 24 years of his life in Puri, Orissa, the great temple city of Jagannath.
The Suryavanshi Hindu emperor of Orissa, Gajapati Maharaja Prataparudra Dev, regarded the Lord as
Krishna's incarnation and was an enthusiastic patron and devotee of Chaitanya's sankeertan party. It was
during these years that Lord Chaitanya is believed by His followers to have sank deep into various Divine-
Love (samadhi) and performed pastimes of divine ecstasy (bhakti).
According to beliefs of orthodox followers Caitanya Mahaprabhu united in himself two aspects:
ecstatic devotee of Krishna and Krishna himself in inseparable union with Radha. According to the
hagiographies of 16th c. authors he has exhibited his Universal Form identical to that of Krishna on a
number of occasions, notably to Advaita Acarya and Nityananda Prabhu.
Chaitanya has left one written record in Sanskrit called Siksastakam. Chaitanya's epistemological,
theological and ontological teachings are summarized as ten roots or maxims dasamula:

1. The statements of scripture are the chief proof. By these statements the following nine topics are
taught.
2. Krishna is the Supreme Absolute Truth.
3. Krishna is endowed with all energies.
4. Krishna is the ocean of rasa (theology).
5. The jivas (individual souls) are all separated parts of the Lord.
6. In bound state the jivas are under the influence of matter.
7. In the liberated state the jivas are free from the influence of matter.
8. The jivas and the material world are both different from and identical to the Lord.
9. Pure devotion is the practice of the jivas.
10. Pure love of Krishna is the ultimate goal.
11. Krishna is the only lovable blessing to be received.

The Siksastaka created by Mahaprabhu is believed to contain the complete philosophy of Gaudiya
Vaishnavism in condensed form. The followers of Caitanya - the Six Gosvamis of Vrindavan – were
responsible for systematizing Gaudiya Vaishnava theology.
In the 20th century the teachings of Chaitanya were brought to the West by A. C. Bhaktivedanta
Swami Prabhupada. Bhaktivedanta Swami founded his movement known as The International Society for
Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) to spread Chaitanya's teachings throughout the world. Temples were also
established dedicated to Krishna and Chaitanya outside India in the closing decades of the 20th century. In
the 21st century Vaishnava bhakti is now also being studied through the academic medium of Krishnology
in a number of academic institutions.

PROMINENT SAINTS FROM THE SOUTH

I. VALLABHA (1479–1531 CE)

Vallabhacharya was a devotional philosopher, who founded the Pushti sect in India, following the
philosophy of Shuddha-advaita (pure non-dualism).
He is the Acharya and Guru within the Vaishnava traditions as promulgated and prescribed by the
Vedanta philosophy. Within Indian Philosophy, he is known as the writer of Anubhashya - a commentary on
Brahm Sutra, Shodash Granth or sixteen 'stotras' (tracts) and several commentaries on the Bhagavata
Purana, which describes the many lilas (pastimes) of the avatar Krishna. Vallabhaacharya occupies a unique
place in Indian culture as a scholar, a philosopher and devotional (bhakti) preacher. He is widely considered
as the last of the four great Vaishnava Acharyas who established the various Vaishnava schools of thought
based on Vedantic philosophy, the other three (preceding him) being Ramanujacharya, Madhvacharya and
Nimbarkacharya. He is especially known as a lover and a propagator of Bhagavata Dharma.
The ancestors of Vallabhacharya lived in Andhra Pradesh and belonged to a long line of Telugu
Vaidiki Brahmins following the Vishnu Swami school of thought. According to devotional accounts, Krishna
commanded his ancestor that He would take birth in their family after completion of 100 Somayagnas (fire
sacrifices). By the time of Vallabha, the family had completed 100 Somayagnas.
According to a legend, Vallabha was born as a premature baby, two months in advance. As the child
did not show signs of life, the parents placed it under a tree wrapped in a piece of cloth. It is believed that
Krishna appeared in a dream before the parents of Vallabhacharya and signified that He Himself had taken
birth as the child. According to popular accounts, the parents rushed to the spot and were amazed to find
their baby alive and protected by a circle of divine fire. The blessed mother extended her arms into the fire
unscathed; she received from the fire the divine baby, gleefully to her bosom. The child was named
Vallabha (meaning "dear one" in Sanskrit).
His education commenced at the age of seven with the study of four Vedas. He acquired mastery
over the books expounding the six systems of Indian philosophy. He also learnt philosophical systems of Adi
Sankara, Ramanuja, Madhva, Nimbarka along with the Buddhist and Jain schools.
At the behest of the great Tuluva king Krishnadevaraya, a sensational debate was conducted at
Vijayanagara between the Vaishnavaites of Madhva and Shankarites over the philosophical question
whether God is dualistic or non-dualistic. Vallabhacharya participated in the discussion, considering it as a
divine call. The discussion continued for 27 days in the conference hall. The day of victory for Vaishnavas
was celebrated with great pomp at Vijaynagara. He was honoured with the kanakabhishekam ceremony by
Krishnadevaraya. The title of ‘Acharya’ and 'Jagadguru' (world preceptor) was conferred on him.
Vallabhacharya performed three pilgrimages of India. He gave discourses on Bhagavata. He looked
very bright, brilliant and his body depicted magnificent brilliance as a celibate. He gave discourses on
Bhagavata at 84 places and explained the subtle meanings of the Puranic text. Even during present day
these 84 places are visited by thousands of Hindu pilgrims and are referred to as "Chaurasi Bethak". He
used to stay in Vraja for four months in each year.
Vallabhacharya composed many philosophical and devotional books during his lifetime such as:
Anubhashya or Brahmsutranubhashya, Tattvaarth Dip Nibandh - Essays on the fundamental principles of
spirituality, also, Subodhini - Commentary on Shrimad Bhagavat Mahapuran, and Shodash Granth - Sixteen
short verse-type compositions to teach his followers about devotional life. He wrote other pieces of
literature as well.
It is believed that when Vallabhacharya entered Gokul, he thought about the important question of
restoring people to the right path of devotion. He meditated on Krishna who appeared to him in a vision in
the form of Shrinathji, deity discovered by Madhavendra Puri and disclosed the 'Brahma Sambandha'
(Sanskrit for - "Relation with Brahman, the supreme Godhead"), a mantra of self dedication or consecration
of self to Krishna. He undertook three pilgrimages of India. He performed the initiation ceremony of
religious rite by conferring on them ‘Nama Nivedana’ mantra or ‘Brahma Sambandha’ mantra. Thousands
became his disciples, but 84 devoted servants are most famous and their life has been documented in
Pushti Marg literature as the ‘Story of 84 Vaishnavas’.
Vallabhacharya represented the culmination of philosophical thought during the Bhakti Movement
in the Middle Ages. The sect established by him is unique in its facets of devotion to Krishna, especially His
child manifestation, and is enriched with the use of traditions, music and festivals. Today, most of the
followers of this sect reside in western and northern India.