A History of South India from Prehistoric Times to the Fall of Vijayanagar c20.28

c20.28

Vaishnavism continued to be one of the dominant forces influencing the life of the people. No striking developments took place in the rest of our period in doctrine or practice. Occasionally the cult, especially that of Rādhā, tended to degenerate into erotic excesses. This is particularly true of the followers of Vallabhācārya (1479-1531), a Telugu Brahmin contemporary of Chaitanya. He was born in Benares, wrote several works in Sanskrit including a commentary on the Vedāntasūtras and became the founder of a system called Śuddhādvaita which exalted bhakti above knowledge. He is said to have vanquished Smārta scholars in public debate at the court of Krishnadeva Rāya. The ācāryas of the sect were known as Mahārājas and lived luxurious lives. The highest ambition of his followers was to become gopis and sport eternally with Krishna in his Heaven, an ideal which in practice degenerated into gross eroticism. Further, disputes between rival sects sometimes flared up with unusual violence. Nevertheless, Vaishnavism continued to be, in general, a noble and sweet influence on life. The Rāyas of Vijayanagar were great patrons of Vaishnavism; in 1556 Sadāśiva, at the request of Rāma Rāya, gave thirty-one villages to maintain the temple of Rāmānuja and the institutions attached to it at Śrīperumbudūr.