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Vallabhacharya of sixteenth century.

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V. Sadagopan • August 4, 1995 


Eswar Josyula referred to  an Acharya of tha above name as  a proponent of Rura
Sampradhayam. There is a famous Vallabhacharya, who is the founder of the Pushti
Marg  Vaishnava worship of  Lord of Govardhan. He lived between A.D 1478- 1530.
Lord of Govardhan is known as Sri Nathji.He is the prime  deity for Pushti
marfgis.Vallabhacharya built the first  temple for him in Mt. Govardhan in the
year A.D 1519.Gaudiya Vaishnavas shared the worship of Sri Nathji at one time
and the split emerged between the two sampradhayas. That sacred deity worshipped
by Vallabha now resides at a small town (Nathdwara), 20 miles  away  from
Udaipur as  a result of fear  about Aurangazeb's invasion of the  area near
Govardhan .  Vallabha established the Pushtimargi"s way of offering Seva instead
of Puja to Sri Nathji.Seva is performed out of sheer love for the deity instead
of more formal puja. Thus Vallabha is a major figure in a tradition that has
thrived in the North.  Hence the Vallabhacharya referred to by Eswar may be
another one associated with the Rudra Sampradhayam.

Sadagopan