Pushtimarga Sampradaya

Followers of the Puṣṭimārga worship Kr̥ṣṇa and engage in devotional practices centered around the youthful Kr̥ṣṇa as depicted in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa, and the pastimes at Govardhan Hill.

[4] The sect worships Kr̥ṣṇa through sevā, a practice in which his idols are served and entertained with food, drink, music, and art, recreating his daily routine as a youth in Braj.

[10][13] When he went to Govardhan Hill he declared that the stone being worshipped as Devadamana was the svarūpa of Śrī Nāthajī and instituted the formal sevā of the deity.

[10] In 1540, the Gauḍiya priests of Śrī Nāthajī, whom Vallabha hired, were expelled from Govardhan Hill which gave the Puṣṭimārga sole control over the deity's worship.

[21][22][23] He heavily transformed the simple sevā of his father's time into a deeply aesthetic experience that sought to recreate the daily life of Kr̥ṣṇa in which he was offered expensive clothing, jewelry, perfumes, and sumptuous meals.

[24] Upon Viṭṭhalanātha's death the spiritual leadership of the sect was divided among his seven sons among whom he had distributed the major svarūpas of Kr̥ṣṇa and granted the sole right to bestow the brahmasambandha mantra, that is, to initiate new members.

Viṭṭhalanātha's son Gokulanātha authored many texts in Sanskrit and particularly in Braj Bhasha, which reemphasized the themes of Vallabha's works in a more accessible language.

[32][33] The Third House eventually moved to the region of Mewar in Rajasthan due to the invasion of the Marāṭhās where they were welcomed by the kings and granted refuge.

In Braj, the Jāṭ rebellion under the reign of Emperor Aurangzeb caused many religious communities, including the remaining houses of the Puṣṭimārga, to flee to Rajasthan where they received protection.

In the paper Satya Prakāśa, Mulji had called the Vallabha Sampradāya a degenerate sect with false doctrines, and accused its mahārājās (including Jadunath Brizratanji specifically by name) of forcing female devotees to have sexual relations with them.

The British judges sided with Mulji, and the Puṣṭimārga's reputation was tainted, and the sect was viewed negatively by Western scholars until the late 20th century.

Since the latter half of the 20th century, the mahārājās no longer have the same level of religious and secular authority over their followers, and they are much more restrained in their public presence.

In response, Vallabha formulated the philosophy of Śuddhādvaita, in opposition to the Ādvaita Vedānta of Śaṅkara, which he called Maryādā Mārga or Path of Limitations.

[40] According to Barz, in Śuddhādvaita the concept of uddhāra or lifting a jīva out of ignorance is granted solely through the grace of Kr̥ṣṇa who may have seemingly unknowlable reasoning.

[43] Vallabha stated that religious disciplines that focus on Vedic sacrifices, temple rituals, puja, meditation, and yoga had limited value.

[4] Vallabha accepts four prior works as the major bases for his doctrines: the Vedas, the Bhagavad Gītā, the Brahma Sūtra, and the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.

[45] Vallabha composed many philosophical and devotional books during his lifetime including:[10] Later figures authored prose texts in Braj Bhasha in the vārtā genre.

[50] Harirāy is also the attributed author of the Braj Bhasha text Śrī Nāthajī Prākaṭya kī Vārtā which recounts the history of Śrīnāthajī from the svarūpa's appearance on Govardhan Hill until its removal to Nathadwara in 1672.

The absolute and exclusive rights to grant this mantra, in order to remove the doṣas (faults) of a jīva (soul) lie only with the direct male descendants of Vallabhācārya.

[10][57] In modern times, the majority of members of the sect are born into Pushtimarg families, with the administration of the mantra split into two ceremonies.

The initiate is made to fast the day prior, bathe, hold a tulasi leaf in the palm of the right hand and repeat the Ātmanivedana-mantra mantra[note 1] after the guru.

[25][68] The eighth house was founded by Tulasīdāsa, also known as Lālajī, whose descendants hold Śrī Gopināthajī (Br̥ndābana, Uttar Pradesh, until 1947 in Ḍerāgāzīkhāṁ, Sindh).

The svarūpa is entertained by singers and poets, with paintings called pichvaīs being placed in the background to enhance the bhāva ("emotion") of the sevā.

[71] Madhura bhāva places the devotee in the role of a gopī (cowherd-girl of Braj) who takes part in the love-play of Kr̥ṣṇa's līlās in the nighttime.

Sakhya bhāva places the devotee in the role of gopa (cowherd) as a friend of Kr̥ṣṇa's who takes part in games and cow herding activities in the daytime.

There are many Baithaks that are considered sacred; 84 connected to Vallabha, 28 to Viṭṭhalanātha, 4 to Giridhara, 13 to Gokulanātha, 1 each to Raghunātha and Ghanaśyāma, 7 to Harirāya, 2 to Dāmodaradāsa Harasānī, and 2 to Śrī Nāthajī.

The kīrtans are categorized into five major groups: Nitya (daily), Utsav (festival), Baddhāī (good wishes [used for birthdays]), Malhār (rainy season), and Dhamār (spring).

[80] The followers in Gujarat usually belong to the Bhatia, Lohana, Bania, Marwari, Kanbi/Patidar Patel (elite sections), and higher artisan castes (e.g. Soni, Kansara, Kayasth), almost all of whom reside in urban areas.

[81] There are only a small number of Gujarati Brahmins, mainly Shastris, who study and expound upon sectarian texts and perform specialized rituals.

In sectarian temples, the Mukhiyas (chief priests), cooks, and water-carriers are all Brahmins from a handful of subcastes (Audichya, Girnara, and Sachora).