The Radha Vallabh Sampradaya is a

Vaishnava Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

Hindu denomination which began in 1535 at

Vrindavan Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance in Hinduism as Krishna spent most of his childho ...

with the

bhakti ''Bhakti'' ( sa, भक्ति) literally means "attachment, participation, fondness for, homage, faith, love, devotion, worship, purity".See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. It was originally used in Hinduism, referring to d ...

poet- sant

Hith Harivansh Mahaprabhu Shri Hit Harivansh Chandra Mahaprabhu (another spelling, Hita Harivaṃśa, 1509–1552) is a Braj-language bhakti poet- sant and the founder of Radha Vallabh Sampradaya. His principal work is the hymnal ''Hita-Caurāsī''. Born in Baad Graam ...

(1502–1552). Harivansh's views are related to

Krishnaism Krishnaism (IAST: ''Kṛṣṇaism'') is a large group of independent Hindu traditions— sampradayas related to Vaishnavism—that center on the devotion to Krishna as '' Svayam Bhagavan'', '' Ishvara'', '' Para Brahman'', the source of all ...

but emphasizes devotion to

Radha Radha ( sa, राधा, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is worshiped as the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. She is the avatar of goddess Lakshmi and is also d ...

rani as the Supreme Being.

Features

According to the scholar Guy L. Beck, the Radha vallabh sampradaya has the following features, in comparison with Krishnaite traditions. # Its view on

and

Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is on ...

differentiates from normative Krishnaite theology. The ultimate Supreme Being is the Devi Radha, the Queen, while her consort Krishna is the penultimate step toward the supreme deity, her most intimate servant. # The tradition prefers to remain unaffiliated with any classical philosophical positions and previous four major Vaishnavite sampradayas. # It declines to produce theological and philosophical commentaries, basing on pure

, divine love. # The founder and followers lived and live as householders and

sannyasa ''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' A ...

is not praised.

Scriptures

The main scriptures of the sampradaya created in regional

Braj Bhasha The Braj language, ''Braj Bhasha'', also known as Vraj Bhasha or Vrij Bhasha or Braj Bhāṣā or Braji or Brij Bhasha or Braj Boli, is a Western Hindi language. Along with Awadhi (a variety of Eastern Hindi), it was one of the two predominant ...

with status of the heaven language. * ''Hita-Caurāsī'' ( ''Caurāsī Pad'') — the eighty-four verses (hymns), the principal work of Hith Harivansh Mahaprabhu. * ''Vyāhulau Utsav ke Pad'' (the ''Vedding Hymns of Radha and Krishna'').

Temples and practices

The Shri Radha Vallabh Temple in

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located approximately north of Agra, and south-east of Delhi; about from the town of Vrindavan, and from Govardhan. ...

is a very famous temple of the same preaching. This temple is among the most famous 7 temples of Thakur of Vrindavan including Sri Radhavallabh ji, Shri Govind Dev ji, Shri Bankey Bihari Ji and four others. In this temple, there is no idol of

rani, but a crown is placed next to

to signify her presence. The "Tikaet Adhyaksh" of Shri Radhavallabh ji Temple is Shri Radheshlal Goswami and further his child Shri Mohit Maral Goswami, his son Shobhit lal Goswami and his brother Govind lal Goswami are also taking care of the temple. Shri Radhavallabh ji Temple was founded by Shri Hith Harivansh Mahaprabhu who is worshipped in the adjacent temple of Shri Radhavallabh ji which was earlier Shri Radhavallabh ji's temple but because of Mughal Emperor

Aurangzeb Muhi al-Din Muhammad (; – 3 March 1707), commonly known as ( fa, , lit=Ornament of the Throne) and by his regnal title Alamgir ( fa, , translit=ʿĀlamgīr, lit=Conqueror of the World), was the sixth emperor of the Mughal Empire, ruling ...

attack on Vrindavan he was shifted to other place and then the new temple was built. The Yugal Darshan of Radhavallabh ji is considered as difficult because of rituals due to which the "patt" gets closed. This temple with Madan teer and Seva kunj with Maharasmandal are held by the Tikaet Adhyaksh and are considered as Shri Radhavallabh ji's property. In this temple

Radhastami Radhashtami is a Hindu holy day commemorating the birth anniversary of the goddess Radha, the chief consort of the god Krishna. It is celebrated with great fervor in her birthplace Barsana and the entire Braj region on the eighth day (Ashtami) ...

is celebrated largely which is a festival on the birthday of Shri Radha Rani . The Temple of Shri Radhavallabh lal is also the mighty temple as many people confirmed that The Lord there residing is living power while others feel a real relaxation on having the Yugal Darshan of Radhavallabh ji. In the lap of nature, in Vrindavan with its cluster of forests and meadows surrounded by the revered river

Yamuna The Yamuna ( Hindustani: ), also spelt Jumna, is the second-largest tributary river of the Ganges by discharge and the longest tributary in India. Originating from the Yamunotri Glacier at a height of about on the southwestern slopes of B ...

, the almighty mingled with the people of the land, making on destination of cast and creed. The purest form of divine love play with Sri Radha displayed by him, opened up the most secluded, rarest and the super most path of "Ras-Bhakti", hitherto unknown to the world. Shri Radhavallabhlal temple is one of the icons of Vrindavan with extraordinary beauty, building style and wonderful darshans of deity. The Lord is considered as living with unearthly powers. Many people from far away come to seek the darshan of Thakur Ji. The forces of

creation Creation may refer to: Religion *''Creatio ex nihilo'', the concept that matter was created by God out of nothing *Creation myth, a religious story of the origin of the world and how people first came to inhabit it *Creationism, the belief that ...

and sustenance, in effect Mother Nature herself, reincarnated around Him as Sri

, and her companions. Lord Krishna's haunting flute sweetest melodies was the call of God and followers happily abandoned worldly attachments to serve God and joy in this garden of nature. The

kirtan Kirtana ( sa, कीर्तन; ), also rendered as Kirtan, is a Sanskrit word that means "narrating, reciting, telling, describing" of an idea or story, specifically in Indian religions. It also refers to a genre of religious performance art ...

"Samaj-Gayan" is the Radha-vallabha's collective style of hymn singing by the

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the classical music of northern regions of the Indian subcontinent. It may also be called North Indian classical music or, in Hindustani, ''shastriya sangeet'' (). It is played in instruments like the violin, sit ...

forms, such "

dhrupad Dhrupad is a genre in Hindustani classical music from the Indian subcontinent. It is the oldest known style of major vocal styles associated with Hindustani classical music, Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampraday and also related to the South I ...

" and " dhamar".

Notable people

Prabodhananda Sarasvati Prabodhananda Sarasvati was a Gaudiya Vaishnava, and later Radhavallabha, sannyasi."identify Radha as the supreme Laksmi.." A Telugu Brahmin from Srirangam, Prabodhananda formerly followed Sri Vaishnavism but was converted to the path of devoti ...

, a Sanskrit poet,

sannyasi ''Sannyasa'' (Sanskrit: संन्यास; IAST: ), sometimes spelled Sanyasa (सन्न्यास) or Sanyasi (for the person), is life of renunciation and the fourth stage within the Hindu system of four life stages known as '' As ...

, saint.

Notes

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

*
Sri Radha Rani — The Supreme Goddess of Vrindavan
by ''Radhavallabh.com'' {{Vaishnava Sampradayas Krishnaite Vaishnava denominations Vaishnava sects Shaktism Bhakti-era Hindu sects Bhakti movement Hinduism in Uttar Pradesh 1535 establishments in India