Pushtimarg Sampradaya

The Pushtimarg or “Path of Grace” is also known as the Vallabha Sampradaya because Vallabha founded it. The present acaryas of the Pushtimarg sampradaya are all descendant of Vallabha. In Braja their main centers of worship are Gokula, Jatipura, Mathura and Kaman. It does not put great importance on asceticism, and most of its priests are married. Many of its followers come from Gujarat.

Vittahalnath, the son of Vallabha, made several pilgrimages to Dwarka, and visited many of the larger towns in Gujarat. Vittahalnath eventually moved to Gokula. For a while he lived at Satghara in Mathura, which is said to have that name because he lived there with his seven (sat) sons. One of the sons of Vittahalnath brought the Sir Nathji (Gopal) Deity to this house for a while, because it was believed that the Muslims might attack Govardhana. During this time, according to the Caitanya Caritamrita Rupa Gosvami had the darshan of Sri Nathji.

Around 1570, Vittahalnath started to build several temples in Gokula for Deities under his care. He arranged to have Deities worshiped by his family brought together and have a celebration in which there would be a huge feast. He had sixth sons from his first wife between 1540 and 1558, and a seventh son from his second wife in 1571. A few years before his death in 1585 he presented a deity to each of his son, for them to worship in their homes. In this way he established the seven branches of the Pushtimarg, which are known as Gaddis (literally ‘seats’). There are seven main Gaddis or seats of the Pushtimarg. It is customary that only the male son from the father’s side could be a leader and initiate disciples in the Pushtimarg. The Acarya in each one of these Gaddis is given great respect.

The seven Deities given by Vittahalnath to his seven sons were worshiped in haveli temples in Gokula. The eldest son Giridhar was given the Deity of Mathuresh (Mathuranath or Mathuradhish), the second son Govindray was given Vitthalesh (Vittahalnath), the third son Balkrishna the Deity Dwarkadhish (Dwarkanath), the fourth son Gokulnath the Deity called Gokulnath, the fifth son, Raghunath was given Gokulchandrama, the sixth son Yadunath got the Deity called Balkrishna, and the seventh son Ghanshyam received the Deity of Madan-Mohan. The seven original Deities were worshiped in Gokula until the end of the 16th century.
The descendants of the oldest son, Giridhar, also received the rights to worship Sri Nathji and Nava-nitapriya, and this line is considered to be the most important and the main line. The head of the first Gaddi has the title Tilakayat. The senior Goswami in each Gaddi is the head and the main guru of the Gaddi, and his position is passed onto his eldest son.

Over the years the different original Deities were brought to different places outside of Braja. The Deity of Balkrishna was taken to Surat in 1670, and this became the headquarters of the sixth Gaddi. Dwarkadhish was taken to Kankaroli, a village north of Udaipur in 1719.

Around 1669, because of the lack of security the Deity of Sri Nathji was removed from Govardhana Hill. The Deity was first brought along with the Deity of Navanitapriya (from Gokula) to Agra. Sri Nathji was then brought to Kota, then Kishangarh, and eventually to the village of Sinhad (now called Nathdwar), forty kilometres north of Udaipur, where the cart carrying Sri Nathji got stuck under a pipal tree and would not go any further. This was taken as a sign that the Deity should stay there and a temple was built and the Deity of Sri Nathji has been there ever since. The town of Nathdwar become the main place of the first Gaddi or Tilakayat, and has become the main pilgrimage site for member of the Pushtimarg. Now the worship of Sri Nathji is shared among the seventh Gaddis, with the main periods of worship done by descendants of the first Gaddi.

Vittahalnath, the Deity of the second Gaddi was moved to Mewar (the area around Udaipur), then to Kota, and eventually installed in a temple in 1821 next to the temple of Sri Nathji. The Deity of Mathuresh was taken first to Bundi and then to Kota and a temple was installed there. In 1953 the Deity of Mathureshji was moved from Kota to the town of Jatipura, next to Govardhana Hill.
Madan-Mohan, Gokulnath and Gokulchandrama, the main Deities of the other Gaddis were eventually moved to Jaipur at the end of the eighteenth century.

The original Deity of Gokulnath was taken back to Gokula at the end of the nineteenth century. The Deities of Gokulchandrama and Madan-Mohan was brought to the town of Kaman in 1871.

After the main Deities were moved, the Pushtimarg movement became popular in Gujarat and Rajasthan. All seven of the main Gaddis still exist, and are active in Gokula and Jatipura. At the present time, one of the main and most popular temples of the Pushtimarg in Braja is the Dwarkadish Temple in Mathura. The third Gaddi manages it.

Copyright ©2001 John Howley and Spiritual Guides