The Radha Vallabha Sampradaya () is a

Vaishnava Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, '' Mahavishnu''. It is one of the major Hindu denominations along wit ...

Hindu denomination Hindu denominations, ''sampradayas'', traditions, movements, and sects are traditions and sub-traditions within Hinduism centered on one or more gods or goddesses, such as Vishnu, Shiva, Shakti and so on. The term ''sampradaya'' is used for bra ...

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, Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance for Hindus who believe that Krishna, one of ...

, with the Sant Hith Harivansh Mahaprabhu (1502–1552). Harivansh's views are related to

Krishnaism Krishnaism is a term used in scholarly circles to describe large group of independent Hinduism, Hindu traditions—sampradayas related to Vaishnavism—that center on the devotion to Krishna as ''Svayam Bhagavan'', ''Ishvara'', ''Para Brahman'' ...

, but emphasises devotion to the goddess Shri

Radha Radha (, ), also called Radhika, is a Hindu goddess and the chief consort of the god Krishna. She is the goddess of love, tenderness, compassion, and devotion. In scriptures, Radha is mentioned as the avatar of Lakshmi and also as the Prak� ...

as the

Supreme Being {{broad-concept article A supreme deity, supreme god or supreme being is the conception of the sole deity of monotheistic religions or, in polytheistic or henotheistic religions, the paramount deity or supernatural entity which is above all other ...

Features

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

and

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

differentiates from normative Krishnaite theology. The Supreme Being in this tradition is Radha, while her consort Krishna is described to be the penultimate step toward the supreme deity, and 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, based on pure

bhakti ''Bhakti'' (; Pali: ''bhatti'') is a term common in Indian religions which means attachment, fondness for, devotion to, trust, homage, worship, piety, faith, or love.See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. In Indian religions, it ...

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

sannyasa ''Sannyasa'' (), sometimes spelled ''sanyasa'', is the fourth stage within the Hinduism, Hindu system of four life stages known as ''ashrama (stage), ashramas'', the first three being ''brahmacharya'' (celibate student), ''Gṛhastha, grihast ...

is not praised.

Scriptures

The main scriptures of the sampradaya created in regional

Braj Bhasha Braj is a language within the Indo-Aryan language family spoken in the Braj region in Western Uttar Pradesh centered on Mathura. Along with Awadhi, it was one of the two predominant literary languages of North-Central India before gradually ...

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 ''Wedding Hymns of Radha and Krishna''). * Shri Hit Radha Sudha Nidhi, written by Hith Harivansh Mahaprabhu. * Shri Hit Sevak Vaani, written by Sevak Ji(Damodardas Ji)

Lineage of Radha Vallabha Sampradaya

The Shri Radha Vallabh Temple in

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

is a famous temple in Radha Vallabha Sampradaya. This temple is among the most famous 7 temples of Thakur of Vrindavan including Radha Vallabha, Govinda, Banke Bihari and four others. In this temple, there is no idol of Shri Radha, but a 'Gādī Sevā' is placed next to

to signify her presence. The Shri Radha Vallabh Temple was founded by Shri Hith Harivansh Mahaprabhu who is worshipped in the adjacent temple of Radha Vallabha which was earlier Radhavallabha's temple, but because of Mughal emperor

Aurangzeb Alamgir I (Muhi al-Din Muhammad; 3 November 1618 – 3 March 1707), commonly known by the title Aurangzeb, also called Aurangzeb the Conqueror, was the sixth Mughal emperors, Mughal emperor, reigning from 1658 until his death in 1707, becomi ...

's attack on Vrindavan he was shifted to other place and then the new temple was built. The Yugal Darshan of Radhavallabha 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 Radha Vallabha's property. In this temple Radhastami is celebrated largely which is a festival on the birthday of Radha. The

kirtan Sikh ''kirta''n with Indian harmoniums and '' Kenya.html" ;"title="tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya">tabla'' drums (a common and popular pairing), in Kenya (1960s) ''Kirtana'' (; ), also rendered as ''Kiirtan'', ''Kirt ...

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

Hindustani classical music Hindustani classical music is the Indian classical music, classical music of the Indian subcontinent's northern regions. It may also be called North Indian classical music or ''Uttar Bhartiya shastriya sangeet''. The term ''shastriya sangeet'' ...

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 (for example in the Haveli Sangeet of Pushtimarg Sampradaya), and is als ...

" and " dhamar".

Notable people

Pujya Shri Hit Gaurangi Sharanji Maharaj
-Spiritual

Guru Guru ( ; International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration, IAST: ''guru'') is a Sanskrit term for a "mentor, guide, expert, or master" of certain knowledge or field. In pan-Indian religions, Indian traditions, a guru is more than a teacher: tr ...

of Premanand Ji Maharaj * Shri Hit Premanand Ji Maharaj * Shri Hit Hariram Vyas Ji * Shri Hit Mohit Maral Goswami Ji

Notes

References

Footnotes

Bibliography

* * * * *

External links

*
Radha — The Supreme Goddess of Vrindavan
{{Vaishnava Sampradayas Krishnaite Vaishnava denominations Vaishnava sects Shaktism Bhakti-era Hindu sects Bhakti movement Hinduism in Uttar Pradesh 1535 establishments in India