Radha Vallabha Sampradaya
The Radha Vallabha Sampradaya (Sanskrit: राधावल्लभसम्प्रदाय, romanized: Rādhāvallabhasampradāya)[4] is a Vaishnava Hindu denomination which began in 1535 at Vrindavan with the bhakti sant Hith Harivansh Mahaprabhu (1502–1552).[5] Harivansh's views are related to Krishnaism, but emphasises devotion to the goddess Radha as the Supreme Being.[6][1][7][8][9]
 Radha, the principal goddess of the Radha Vallabha tradition | |
| Founder | |
|---|---|
| Hith Harivansh Mahaprabhu[1] | |
| Regions with significant populations | |
| Mathura, Uttar Pradesh[1] | |
| Religions | |
| Hinduism | |
| Scriptures | |
| Hita-Chaurāsī[2] • other hymns | |
| Languages | |
| Braj Bhasha • Sanskrit[3] | |
| Website | |
| radhavallabhmandir |
| Part of a series on |
| Vaishnavism |
|---|
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Features
According to the scholar Guy L. Beck, the Radha Vallabha Sampradaya has the following features, in comparison with Krishnaite traditions.[10]
- Its view on Radha and Krishna 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,[1] and her most intimate servant.[note 1]
- The tradition prefers to remain unaffiliated with any classical philosophical positions[3] and previous four major Vaishnavite sampradayas.[note 2]
- It declines to produce theological and philosophical commentaries, basing on pure bhakti, divine love.
- The founder and followers lived and live as householders and sannyasa is not praised.
Scriptures
The main scriptures of the sampradaya created in regional Braj Bhasha with status of the heaven language.[3]
Lineage of Radha Vallabha Sampradaya
The Shri Radha Vallabh Temple in Vrindavan, Mathura is a very famous temple of the same preaching. 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 Radha, but a 'Gādī Sevā' is placed next to Krishna to signify her presence.[14]
The Shri Radha Vallabh Temple was founded by 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'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 "Samaj-Gayan" is the Radha-vallabha's collective style of hymn singing by the Hindustani classical music forms, such "dhrupad" and "dhamar".[3]
Notable people
- Prabodhananda Sarasvati, a Sanskrit poet, sannyasi, saint.[15]
- Hariram Vyas
- Premanand Maharaj[16]
See also
Notes
- As a precursor to this view can be understand the 12th-century poet Jayadeva, in whose Gita Govinda (10.9) Krishna beneath Radha.[11]
- Scholaes sometimes count the Radhavallabhis as offshoot of Nimbarka Sampradaya.[12]
References
Footnotes
- Beck 2005, p. 66.
- White 1977; Snell 1991; Beck 2005, pp. 67–68.
- Beck 2005, p. 67.
- Gupta, Ravi; Valpey, Kenneth (2013-03-26). The Bhagavata Purana: Sacred Text and Living Tradition. Columbia University Press. p. 192. ISBN 978-0-231-14999-0.
- White 1977; Snell 1991, chapter 1; Brzezinski 1992; Rosenstein 1998; Beck 2005.
- Rosenstein 1998.
- Vemsani, Lavanya (2016). Krishna in History, Thought, and Culture: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names: An Encyclopedia of the Hindu Lord of Many Names. Santa Barbara: ABC-Clio. ISBN 978-1-61069-211-3. Archived from the original on 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2020-12-25.
- Lochtefeld, James G. (2002). "Radha". The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism: N–Z. The Rosen Publishing Group. p. 542. ISBN 978-0-8239-3180-4.
- Balfour, Edward (1885). The Cyclopædia of India and of Eastern and Southern Asia: Commercial, Industrial and Scientific, Products of the Mineral, Vegetable, and Animal Kingdoms, Useful Arts and Manufactures (3rd ed.). London: B. Quaritch. p. 62. Archived from the original on 2023-03-20. Retrieved 2022-07-29.
- Beck 2005, pp. 74–76.
- Beck 2005, p. 76.
- De, Sushil Kumar (1942). Early History of the Vaisnava Faith and Movement in Bengal from Sanskrit and Bengali Sources. Calcutta: General Printers and Publishers. p. 6 note.
- Beck 2005, pp. 86–90.
- Rājaśekhara Dāsa (2000). The Color Guide to Vṛndāvana: India's Most Holy City of Over 5,000 Temples. Vedanta Vision Publication.
- Brzezinski 1992.
- Live, A. B. P. "प्रेमानंद जी महाराज वृंदावन का जीवन परिचय जान आप रह जाएंगे हैरान, यहां पढ़ें इनकी जीवनी". ABP News (in Hindi). Retrieved 2023-07-09.
Bibliography
- Beck, Guy L. (2005). "Krishna as Loving Husband of God: The Alternative Krishnology of the Rādhāvallabha Sampradaya". In Guy L. Beck (ed.). Alternative Krishnas: Regional and Vernacular Variations on a Hindu Deity. Albany, NY: SUNY Press. pp. 65–90. ISBN 978-0-7914-6415-1.
- Brzezinski, J. K. (1992). "Prabodhānanda, Hita Harivaṃśa and the Rādhārasasudhānidhi". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 55 (3): 472–497. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00003669. JSTOR 620194. S2CID 161089313.
- Rosenstein, Lucy (1998). "The Rādhāvallabha and the Haridāsā Samprādayas: A Comparison". Journal of Vaishnava Studies. 7 (1): 5–18.
- Snell, Rupert (1991). The Eighty-four Hymns of Hita Harivaṃśa: An Edition of the Caurāsī Pada. Delhi; London: Motilal Banarsidass; School of Oriental and African Studies. ISBN 81-208-0629-8.
- White, Charles S. J. (1977). The Caurāsī Pad of Śri Hit Harivaṃś: Introduction, Translation, Notes, and Edited Braj Bhaṣa. Asian studies at Hawaii, 16. Honolulu: University Press of Hawaii. ISBN 9780824803599. ISSN 0066-8486.