[2][3] Sadh Vaishnavism was founded by thirteenth century philosopher-saint Madhvacharya, who developed the Tattvavada (dvaita) ("arguments from a realist viewpoint") Vedanta sub-school of Hindu philosophy.

[5] Madhva championed the ultimate reality as personal and Saguna Brahman ("the absolute with qualities") and it is Lord Vishnu (Narayana).

Hence god Vishnu (Narayana) along with his consort Lakshmi, and their divine incarnations and forms are revered and worshipped in this tradition.

In Sadh Vaishnavism, the creator is superior to the creation, and hence moksha comes only from the grace of Vishnu, but not from effort alone.

[6] In Sad Vaishnavism Jnana, Bhakti and Vairagya are necessary steps for moksha and doing Karma is also considered a form of puja.

[11] Traditional Sad Vaishnavism's philosophical foundation was established by Madhva, who started his Vedic studies with Achyutapreksha in an Advaita Vedanta monastery.

[22][23] Madhvacharya also asserted, yathecchasi tatha kuru, which Sharma translates and explains as "one has the right to choose between right and wrong, a choice each individual makes out of his own responsibility and his own risk".

In Madhva philosophy, Brahman possesses all positive qualities; at the root of these are existence, consciousness, and bliss.

For Madhva, the personal Brahman is not different from Vishnu, whom Vaishnavas consider to be the creator, the maintainer and destroyer of the world.

According to Madhva, Brahman is neither the limited infinite divine reality of the Nyaya school nor a being in inseparable relation with matter and selves as in the philosophy of Ramanuja.

The Haridasa movement initiated by Madhva has had a deep impact on the people in different parts of the country.

The followers of Madhva are of many distinct groups, they are, the Tuluvas, the Kannadigas, the Marathis, the Telugus, the Tamilians, the Biharis, the Malayalis, and the Konkanis.

[41][42][43] It is the pontiffs and pandits of the Mathatraya that have been the principle architects of post-Madhva Dvaita Vedanta through the centuries.

[44] As a matter of fact, these have taken the lion's share in the task of developing and propagating the philosophy of Madhva.