Валлабха ағымы: Кришнаны құлшынатын индуистік дәстүр

Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism founded by Vallabha

The Puṣṭimārga or Pushtimarg , also known as Vallabha Sampradāya, is a sect of Vaishnavism. It was founded in the early 16th century by Vallabha (1479–1531) and was later expanded by his descendants, particularly Viṭṭhalanātha. Pushtimarg adherents worship Kr̥ṣṇa, and tradition follows universal love themed devotional practices of youthful Krishna which are found in the Bhagavata Purana and those related to pastimes of Govardhana Hill. The Puṣṭimārga sampradāya subscribes to the Śuddhadvaita philosophy of Vallabha. According to this philosophy, Krishna is considered to be the supreme being, the source of everything that exists and the human soul is imbued with Krishna's divine light and spiritual liberation results from Krishna's grace. Kr̥ṣṇa is worshipped in the sect through sevā, whose svarūpas or idols are meticulously and lavishly served and entertained with food, drink, music, and art in which his daily routine as a youth in Braj is recreated. The followers of this tradition are called Pushtimargis or Pushtimargiya Vaishnavas. It has significant following in Indian states of Rajasthan and Gujarat, as well as its regional diaspora around the world. The Shrinathji Temple in Nathdwara is the main shrine of Pushtimarg, which traces its origin back to 1669.

Vallabha was born into a Telugu Brahmin family in South India. He received a traditional education in Sanskrit scriptures and was precocious student. In 1494 he had a vision in which he acquired the Brahmasambandha mantra from Kr̥ṣṇa which was to be used to clean the faults of a human soul. He first bestowed the mantra on Dāmodardās Harsānī who would become the first member of the Puṣṭimārga. When he went to Govardhan Hill he declared that the stone being worshipped as Devadamana was actually the svarūpa of Śrī Nāṭhajī and instituted the formal sevā of the deity. He adopted the houshoulder form of life and had two sons, Gopīnātha and Viṭṭhalanātha. In Vijayanagara he won a religious debate and was awarded the title ācārya of the Viṣṇusvāmi sampradāya. Throughout his life he made three pilgrimage tours of India where he won converts mainly from the Gangetic plain and Gujarat, with converts mainly belonging to mercantile or agricultural castes to whom the ideals of purity were appealing. He died in 1530 designating his elder son Gopīnātha as his successor.

In 1540 the Gauḍiya priests of Śrī Nāthajī who were hired by Vallabha were expelled from Govardhan Hill giving the Puṣṭimārga sole control over the deity's worship. In 1542 Gopīnātha died with his son soon following him, thus leaving Viṭṭhalanāṭha as the leader of the Puṣṭimārga. From 1543 to 1581 Viṭṭhalanāṭha went on fundraising tours to Gujarat where he converted many merchants, agriculturalists, and artisans. He was also very successful in obtaining royal Hindu and Mughal patronage for the sect. 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. The art of paintings and poetry were also added to rituals in order to enhance their appeal. Among his seven sons he distributed major svarūpas of Kr̥ṣṇa. Upon Viṭṭhalanātha's death the spiritual leadership of the sect was divided among his seven sons among whom he distributed major svarūpas of Kr̥ṣṇa and granted the sole right to bestow the brahmasambandha mantra, that is, initiate new members. Thus the Puṣṭimārga was divided into Seven Houses (Sāt Ghar) or Seven Seats (Sāt Gaddī), with all patrilineal male descendants of Vallabhācārya having these rights. These descendants have the titles "mahārājā" (Great King) or "gosvāmi" (Lord of Cows), and the chief mahārāja of the first house has the title of tilkāyat and is primus inter pares.

Viṭṭhalanātha's sons continued to be successful in obtaining patronage of the sect from Mughal emperors. Viṭṭhalanāṭha'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. Gokulanātha is considered the most prominent Puṣṭimārga figure of the era, and according to sectarian sources defended the sect's right to wear their sectarian tilaks and tulsi malas from a Shaiva Tantric ascetic named Jadrup who exerted great influence over the emperor Jahangir. In the early 1600s the houses were disputing over the rights to perform worship to Śrī Nāthajī, and the emperor Shāh Jahān sided with the tilkāyat Viṭṭhalarāy that the First House held precedence over the others. The Third and Sixth Houses also disputed over the course of the century over the worship of the deity Bālakr̥ṣṇa, resulting the exodus of both Houses out of Braj to Surat, Gujarat. 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 cause many religious communities including the remaining houses of the Puṣṭimārga to flee to Rajasthan where they received protection. The First House who were the custodians of Śrī Nāthajī settled in a village in Mewar that would become Nāthadvārā.

According to Pocock, the Pushtimarg was at its height in the late 19th century. The Maharaj Libel Case, in which a mahārājā from Surat named Jadunath Brizratanji sued the journalist Karsandas Mulji on the charges of libel in the Supreme Court of Bombay, was widely publicized. In the paper Satya Prakāśa Mulji had called the Vallabha Sampradāya a degenerate sect with false doctrines, and accused its mahārājās (naming Jadunath Brizratanji) 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 viewed negatively by Western scholars until the late 20th century. The tenure of tilakāyat Govardhanalāl (tilkāyat from 1876 1934) is often described as the "golden age" of both Nathdwara and the Puṣṭimārga.

In the 20th century, the Pushtimarg prospered thanks to the acquired affluence of some of its members, primarily Gujarati merchants. The Gujarati diaspora led to the foundation of important Pushtimarg centers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom, Australia, and New Zealand. However, the sect generally not very well known even in India itself. The mahārājās themselves no longer have the same level of religious and secular authority over their followers, and are much more restrained in terms of their public presence.

The formal initiation into the Pushtimarg is through the administration of the Brahmasambandha mantra. 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. According to Vallabha, he received the Brahmasambandha mantra from Kr̥ṣṇa one night in Gokula. The next morning Vallabha administered the mantra to Damodaradāsa Harasānī, who would become the first member of the sampradāya. In Vallabhācārya's time, an (adult) to be devotee would ask Vallabha to admit him, and if Vallabha was willing to take the potential devotee, he would ask him to bathe and return. Vallabha would then administer the mantra, asking the devotee to use Kr̥ṣṇa's name and to devotee everything he had to Kr̥ṣṇa, after which Vallabha would begin the spiritual education on doctrines and texts. In modern times the majority of members of the sect are born into Pushtimarg families, with the administering of the mantra being split in two ceremonies. The first when the children are about five years old, is when the first part of the mantra: "śrī kr̥ṣṇaḥ śaraṇam mama" and a tulasī necklace is given. When the boys turn twelve or before girl's marriage, a day long fast occurs. The devotee to be then is asked to devote his or her mind, body, wealth, wife, household, senses, and everything else to Kr̥ṣṇa, after which he or she is considered a proper member of the sampradāya. The mantra and initiation is always and may only be performed by the direct male descendants of Vallabha.

Yadunātha's descendants also hold Śrī Kalyāṇarāijī (Baroda, Gujarat) and Śrī Mukundarāyajī (Vārāṇasī, Uttar Pradesh).

Baithak, literally "seat", is the site considered sacred by the followers of the Pushtimarg for performing devotional rituals. These sites are spread across India and are chiefly concentrated in Braj region in Uttar Pradesh and in western state of Gujarat. Total 142 Baithaks are considered sacred; 84 of Vallabhacharya, 28 of his son Viththalanath Gusainji and 30 of his seven grandsons. They mark public events in their lives.

In the Puṣṭimārga, several festivals are celebrated including Holī, Kr̥ṣṇa Janmāṣṭamī, Nāgapañcamī, and Annakūṭa. On the festival days the sevā is designed to match with the bhāva of the holiday.

Music plays a key role in sevā in the form of kīrtans. The aṣṭachāp, or group of eight poets who composed Braj Bhasha devotional poetry and kīrtans are revered in the sect. According to sectarian sources the eight poets were Kumbhanadāsa, Sūradāsa, Nandadāsa, Paramānandadāsa, Kr̥ṣṇadāsa, Caturbhujadāsa, Govindasvāmī, and Chītasvāmī. The most famous of the eight is Sūradāsa, whose relationship with the Puṣṭimārga is most tenuous, and some of the members also have historically unclear relations to the sect. In modern times, the musical liturgy contains nearly ten thousand padas by thirty forty poets including the aṣṭachāp. The kīrtans are categorized in to five major groups: Nitya (daily), Utsav (festival), Baddhāī (good wishes [used for birthdays]), Malhār (rainy season), and Dhamār (spring).