Ancient India was predominated by Hinduism. But with its complex and costly rituals, caste system and the dominance of Brahmins it slowly led to the formation of other religious sects that were simpler to follow. Vaishnavism is one such sect that evolved by breaking away from Hinduism. This religious belief propagates the worship of Lord Vishnu or Krishna. Vaishnavism was seen as a part of Bhakti Movement. It denounced caste system and the notion that intermediaries like Brahmins was needed to reach out to God. Having its roots in the Vedic culture it derived its chief dogmas from Indian myths.

The evolution of this sect lies in the Vedic Age. This civilization was based on spiritual wisdom delivered by the Gods themselves. Lord Vishnu delivered knowledge about the creation to Brahma. He, in turn, passed this knowledge to Narada, his son. Narada imparted the wisdom to his disciples, including Vyasadeva. The latter resided in Badrinath, located near the Himalayas. In an attempt to save the spiritual wisdom from destruction in the Kaliyug, Vyasadeva put it in a written form for the very first time. Till date the script of Vaishnava cult is transferred from teachers to their disciples.

The history of Vaishnavism depicts that Lord Vishnu reincarnates himself as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to fight the Kaliyug. He shows the path of love, simple faith and devotion to reach out to God. To be one with the Supreme Power or Lord Krishna there has to be immense belief in the devotee. The established concepts of class system, caste system, untouchability, elongated and dear rituals were all broken away. Vaishnavism propagated that there is only one thing to which God responds and that is true devotion. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the reincarnation of Lord Krishna, was instrumental in helping the then contemporary society to break away from the shackles of rigid religious customs. Such iconoclastic notions brought in a new lease of life for the social outcasts.

Worshipping, Lord Vishnu is the crux of Vaishnavism. Also called as Vishnuism, or Visnuism, Vaishnavism concentrates on worshipping god Vishnu and of his incarnations, principally as Rama and as Krishna. Vaishnavism is indeed one of the major forms of Hinduism.

The major characteristic of Vaishnavism is "Bhakti" which supports the devotee to escape from the ultimate cycle of death and birth.

In Panini`s time Vasudeva was considered a divine person. From Ghosundi i.e. Rajasthani inscription of about the 2nd century B.C. it is known that Samkarsana and Vasudeva were worshipped as gods at that time. Heliodorus inscription of the same century show that Vasudeva was worshipped as a god at that time and his worshippers were called Bhagavatas. From the Nanaghata inscription of the first century B.C it is clear that Samkarsana and Vasudeva were worshipped gods of that time.

According to the Narayaniya section of the Santiparvan of the Mahabharata, Narayana himself explained the religion of Vasudeva to Narada because the later was devoted to him. Vasudeva belonged to the Vrsni race. Samkarasana and Aniruddha were also members of this race. They worshipped Vasudeva as the Supreme Being and believed him. They believed that this would lead an individual to salvation. It appears that the Bhagavad-Gita was composed before the doctrines of the Bhagavata School that were reduced to a system. In the Gita Bhagavat teaches Arjuna to surrender himself with all beings and moves them. Arjuna is advised to surrender himself to Bhagavat alone and Bhagavat would free him from all his sins.

Later in the Brahmanic period, prior to the cult of Vasudeva, Narayana was regarded as the Supreme Being. In the Narayaniya section it is stated that Narayana, the eternal soul of the universe, with four forms became the son of Dharma. The four forms were Nara, Narayana, Hari and Krishna. Thus it seems that the Brahmanic god Narayana was identified with Vasudeva by the time of compilation of the Mahabharata in the present form.

Vishnu was not an important god in the Rigveda but began to rise in important in the Brahmanas. In the epics and the Puranas he rose to the rank of the Supreme Spirit. In the Anugita portion of the Asvamedha parvan of the Mahabharata it is stated that the universal form which Krishna and Vishnu had become an established fact.

From the above account it is clear that first of all, the Vrsnis worshipped Vasudeva as a god. In the Puranas three streams of this devotional religion, namely one flowing from Vishnu, the Vedic god, at its source, another from Narayana the cosmic and philosophic god and the third from Vasudeva, the historical god mingled together decisively and thus formed the later Vaishnavism. There is however, a fourth stream, which resulted from the identification of Vasudeva Krishna with the cow-heard god.

The Abhiras occupied the tract of the country from Mathura to the regions about Dwaraka. They enjoyed high political position in the second and the third centuries of the Christian era. They probably brought with them the worship of the boy-god and the story of his humble birth, his reputed father`s knowledge that he was not his son and the massacre of Krishna`s boyhood in Gokula was absorbed in the three streams described above, when the Abhiras enjoyed high political position in the second and third centuries of the Christian era. In some of the systems of Vaishnavism this stream has acquired an almost exclusive predominance.

Vaishnavism is subdivided into Sri Sampradayins, Ramanandis, Vallabhacharins, Chaitanyas, Madhavas and Radha Vallabhis. Though the key philosophy of these lineages are similar, they can be broadly divided into the following:-

Brahma Sampradaya:
This sect is also known as Gaudiya Sampradaya. It was popularized by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. This branch of Vaishnavism propagates the philosophy that God is one yet different from his disciples. The essence of this samprdaya can be summarized as "One who knows God knows that the impersonal conception and personal conception are simultaneously present in everything and that there is no contradiction. Therefore Lord Chaitanya established His sublime doctrine: acintya bheda-and-abheda-tattva- simultaneous oneness and difference." (A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada).

Kumara Sampradaya:
It believes that all diverse religion submerges into one philosophy. God is one but he has several forms. Though this is a non-dualist philosophy it believes in multiplicity.

Lakshmi Sampradaya:
This branch of Vaishnavism propagates the philosophy of unity in duality. It was propounded by Nimbarka.

Rudra Sampradaya:
According to this sect Lord Krishna is be all and end all. Everything that happens in this world is due to Krishna`s leela. Creation is a sport for him and to attain his bliss the aspirant needs pure love and devotion.

Several saints have taken a lot of pain to spread Vaishnavism. Chaitanya, Meera Bai, Antal, Tulsidas, Jnanadeva, Anandamayi Ma and Tukaram are some of the renowned names. The religion was popularized by song and dance so that there is mass participation. The immediate impact was huge. Even today people follow Vaishnavism. As a part of the Bhakti Movement it was quite successful and formed the pillars of ancient Indian culture.

Development of Vaishnavism in South India
The Tamil songs of Alvars or Vaisnava devotees are so much marked by depth of feeling and true piety that they are looked upon as Vaisnava Veda. The images of Alvars are worshipped side by side with those of Vishnu and his incarnations. The earliest Alvars maybe placed about the fifth or the sixth century A.D. They devoted themselves to the culture of the feeling of love and devotion for Vishnu or Narayana and the composed songs. The Bhagavata Purana is generally believed to have been composed in the ninth or tenth century A.D. somewhere in South India. It represents a liberal reformist trend within Brahmanism. It plays the leading role of diffusing social tension and containing protest by lending the movement or the prestige of the Vedas and thus securing its acceptance of the basic Brahmanic ideals.

The history of Vaishnavism depicts that Lord Vishnu reincarnates himself as Sri Chaitanya Mahaprabhu to fight the Kaliyug. He shows the path of love, simple faith and devotion to reach out to God. To be one with the Supreme Power or Lord Krishna there has to be immense belief in the devotee. The established concepts of class system, caste system, untouchability, elongated and dear rituals were all broken away. Vaishnavism propagated that there is only one thing to which God responds and that is true devotion. Chaitanya Mahaprabhu, the reincarnation of Lord Krishna, was instrumental in helping the then contemporary society to break away from the shackles of rigid religious customs. Such iconoclastic notions brought in a new lease of life for the social outcasts.