Vadagalai Iyengar

Sri Vaishnavism

Srirangam temple
Regions with significant populations
India, Nepal
Religions
Vaishnavism (Hinduism)
Scriptures
Vedas, Upanishads, Bhagavat Gita, Brahma Sutra, Pancharatra (Agama), Tamil Veda
Languages
Sanskrit, Tamil

Sri Vaishnava Sampradaya or Sri Vaishnavism is a denomination within the Vaishnavism tradition of Hinduism. The name is derived from Sri referring to goddess Lakshmi as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and god Vishnu who are together revered in this tradition.

The tradition traces its roots to the ancient Vedas and Pancaratra texts in Sanskrit and the devotional love of the divine (bhakti) popularized by the Alvars with Tamil texts, songs and music. The founder of Sri Vaishnavism is traditionally attributed as Nathamuni of the 10th century CE, its central philosopher has been Ramanuja of the 11th century who developed the Vishishtadvaita ("qualified non-dualism") Vedanta sub-school of Hindu philosophy. Tradition is based on the Vishistadvaita vedanta philosophy derived from Sanskrit Veda and Tamil Divya Prabandham. The tradition split into two sub-traditions around the 16th-century called the Vadakalai (sect giving Sanskrit Veda the first preference) and Thenkalai (sect giving Tamil Divya Prabandham the first preference).

The name Srivaishnavism (IAST: Śrīvaiṣṇavism) is derived from two words, Sri and Vaishnavism. The word Sri (Tiru in Tamil) refers to goddess Lakshmi as well as a prefix that means "sacred, revered", and god Vishnu who are together revered in this tradition. The word Vaishnavism refers to a tradition that reveres god Vishnu as the supreme god. The followers of Srivaishnavism are known as Srivaishnava (IAST: Śrīvaiṣṇava, श्रीवैष्णव).

The tradition traces its roots to the primordial start of the world through Vishnu, and to the texts of Vedic era with both Sri and Vishnu found in ancient texts of the 1st millennium BCE particularly to the puranas, Upanishads and the Bhagavad Gita.

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