Vallabha | |
|---|---|
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| Personal | |
| Born | May 7, 1478[note 1] |
| Died | July 7, 1530 (aged 52) Vārāṇasī (now in Uttar Pradesh, India) |
| Religion | Hinduism (Vaishnavism) |
| Spouse | Mahālakṣmī (m. 1502) |
| Children |
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| Parents |
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| Organization | |
| Order | Vedanta |
| Founder of | Puṣṭimārga |
| Philosophy | Śuddhādvaita |
Vallabha, or Vallabhacharya (Devanagari: वल्लभाचार्य, IAST: Vallabhācārya, May 7, 1478 – July 7, 1530 CE), was an Indian saint and philosopher. He founded the Kr̥ṣṇa-centered Puṣṭimārga sect of Vaishnavism in the Braj (Vraja) region of India, and propounded the philosophy of Śuddhādvaita.
Vallabha studied Hindu philosophy from early age, then traveled throughout the Indian subcontinent 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, and became the ācārya of the Viṣṇusvāmi school. 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 rejected asceticism and monastic life, suggesting that through loving devotion to the deity Krishna, 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.
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