Vallabha

Vallabha
Personal life
Born	May 7, 1478[note 1]
Died	July 7, 1530(1530-07-07) (aged 52) Vārāṇasī (now in Uttar Pradesh, India)
Spouse	Mahālakṣmī ​ (m. 1502)​
Children	Gopīnātha Viṭṭhalanātha
Parents	Lakṣmaṇa Bhaṭṭa (father) Illammāgārū (mother)
Religious life
Religion	Hinduism (Vaishnavism)
Order	Vedanta
Founder of	Puṣṭimārga
Philosophy	Śuddhādvaita

Vallabha, also known as Vallabhācārya or Vallabha Dīkṣita^{[1][note 2]} (May 7, 1478 – July 7, 1530 CE), was the founder of the Kr̥ṣṇa-centered Puṣṭimārga sect of Vaishnavism, and propounded the philosophy of Śuddhādvaita.

His biography is depicted in several sectarian Puṣṭimārga hagiographies. Born into a Telugu Brahmin family, Vallabha studied Hindu philosophy from early age, then traveled throughout the Indian subcontinent, particularly the Braj (Vraja) region, for over 20 years. He became one of the important leaders of the devotional Bhakti movement. He won many philosophical scholarly debates against the followers of Advaita Vedānta. He began the institutional worship of Śrī Nāthajī on Govardhana Hill. He acquired many followers in the Gangetic plain and Gujarat. After his death, the leadership of his sampradāya passed to his elder son Gopīnātha.

Vallabha's philosophy promoted the householder lifestyle over asceticism, suggesting that through loving devotion to the deity Kr̥ṣṇa, any householder could achieve salvation. He authored many texts including but not limited to, the Aṇubhāṣya (his commentary on the Brahma Sutras), Ṣoḍaśa Grantha or sixteen tracts and several commentaries on the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.

Cite error: There are <ref group=note> tags on this page, but the references will not show without a {{reflist|group=note}} template (see the help page).