SSC
Vallabhacharya was the founder of the Krishna-bhakti sect known as:
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Answer: Option C — Pushtimarg
Detailed Solution
Vallabhacharya (1479-1531) was the founder of the Krishna-bhakti sect known as "Pushtimarg" ("the path of grace").
About Vallabhacharya:
- He was born in 1479 in a Telugu Brahmana family, at Champaran (Chhattisgarh) according to tradition.
- He was a great scholar of the Vedas, Upanishads and the Bhagavata Purana.
- He travelled widely across India, debating with scholars.
- According to tradition, he won a debate at the court of the Vijayanagara ruler Krishnadeva Raya.
- He settled in the Braj region (Mathura-Vrindavan) and later at Banaras.
- He died in 1531.
His philosophy:
- His philosophy is called "Shuddhadvaita" (pure non-dualism).
- He taught that God (Krishna) is the only reality, and the world and souls are real and part of God.
- He rejected the idea that the world is an illusion.
Pushtimarg (the path of grace):
- "Pushti" means nourishment or grace.
- He taught that liberation is achieved through the grace of God, which is received through loving devotion (bhakti) and complete surrender.
- Devotees worship Krishna as a child (Bal Gopal or Shrinathji) with loving service (seva), similar to the way a mother serves her child.
- It does not require renunciation of the world; householders can follow it.
The Shrinathji temple:
- The main shrine of the sect is the Shrinathji temple at Nathdwara, in the Rajsamand district of Rajasthan.
- The image of Shrinathji was moved from Govardhan (Braj) to Nathdwara in 1672, to protect it during Aurangzeb's reign.
- Nathdwara is famous for its "pichhwai" paintings.
His followers:
- His son, Vitthalnath (Gusainji), organised the sect.
- The "Ashtachhap": eight poets of the sect, including the famous blind poet Surdas, who composed songs in Braj Bhasha in praise of Krishna.
Other bhakti sects:
- Gaudiya Vaishnavism: founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (Bengal).
- Warkari sampradaya: devotees of Vitthala at Pandharpur (Maharashtra).
- Ramanandi sampradaya: followers of Ramananda (devotion to Rama).
- Good to know
- The other sects were founded by other saints.
Quick tip
Remember: Pushtimarg = Vallabhacharya (Shuddhadvaita; worship of child Krishna; Shrinathji at Nathdwara); Ashtachhap poets include Surdas.
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Bhakti & Sufi Movements — Preparation
This question tests your understanding of Bhakti & Sufi Movements, a key topic in the General Knowledge section. The detailed solution above uses a step-by-step approach to show the reasoning, and where available, a shortcut that helps you solve similar questions in under 90 seconds during the actual exam.
The Bhakti and Sufi movements emphasised personal devotion to God over ritual and caste. This topic covers Bhakti saints such as Ramanuja, Kabir, Guru Nanak, Mirabai, Tulsidas, Surdas, Chaitanya, Namdev and Tukaram, and the Sufi orders (silsilas) such as the Chishti and Suhrawardi orders and their saints. Questions usually link a saint to their region, language, teacher or ideas, or ask which Sufi order a saint belonged to. For example, Moinuddin Chishti brought the Chishti order to Ajmer, and Kabir was a disciple of Ramananda. A table of saint, region and key teaching makes these questions easy. Practise the Bhakti and Sufi movements questions below, written in the style of the general awareness sections of exams such as SSC, banking, railways, CUET GAT, MAH CET and CLAT. Each question comes with a detailed explanation that adds related facts, so every question helps you revise more than one point.