Vallabhacharya of sixteenth century.

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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