Krishna Warning: You are not logged in. Your IP address will be publicly visible if you make any edits. If you log in or create an account, your edits will be attributed to your username, along with other benefits.Anti-spam check. Do not fill this in! ==== Indian subcontinent ==== The bhakti movements devoted to Krishna became prominent in southern India in the 7th to 9th{{nbsp}}centuries CE. The earliest works included those of the [[Alvars|Alvar]] saints of [[Tamil Nadu]].<ref name=Vaudeville1962>{{cite journal|author = Vaudeville, C.|year = 1962|title = Evolution of Love-Symbolism in Bhagavatism|journal = Journal of the American Oriental Society|volume = 82|issue = 1|pages = 31–40|doi = 10.2307/595976|jstor = 595976}}</ref> A major collection of their works is the ''[[Divya Prabandham]]''. Alvar [[Andal]]'s popular collection of songs [[Tiruppavai]], in which she conceives of herself as a gopi, is the most famous of the oldest works in this genre.<ref name="cassel">{{cite book |author=Bowen, Paul |title=Themes and issues in Hinduism |publisher=Cassell |location=London |year=1998 |pages=[https://archive.org/details/themesissuesinhi0000unse/page/64 64–65] |isbn=978-0-304-33851-1 |url=https://archive.org/details/themesissuesinhi0000unse/page/64 }}</ref><ref name=Radhak1975>{{cite book|author = Radhakrisnasarma, C.|year = 1975|title = Landmarks in Telugu Literature: A Short Survey of Telugu Literature|publisher = Lakshminarayana Granthamala}}</ref><ref name=histor>{{cite book|author = Sisir Kumar Das|year = 2005|title = A History of Indian Literature, 500–1399: From Courtly to the Popular|publisher = Sahitya Akademi|page = 49|isbn = 978-81-260-2171-0}}</ref> The movement originated in South India during the 7th century CE, spreading northwards from Tamil Nadu through Karnataka and Maharashtra; by the 15th{{nbsp}}century, it was established in Bengal and northern India.{{sfnp|Schomer|McLeod|1987|pp=1–2|ps=}} Early [[Krishnaism|Krishnaite]] Bhakti pioneers included [[Nimbarkacharya]] (12th or 13th{{nbsp}}century CE),{{sfn|Ramnarace|2014|p=}}<ref>[https://www.britannica.com/biography/Nimbarka-Indian-philosopher Nimbarka], Encyclopædia Britannica</ref>{{refn|group=note|"The first ''Kṛṣṇaite sampradāya'' was developed by Nimbārka."{{sfn|Hardy|1987|pp=387–392}}}} but most emerged later, including [[Vallabhacharya]] (15th{{nbsp}}century CE) and [[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]]. They started their own schools, namely [[Nimbarka Sampradaya]], [[Vallabha Sampradaya]], and [[Gaudiya Vaishnavism]], with Krishna and Radha as the supreme gods. In addition, since the 15th century, flourished [[Tantra|Tantric]] variety of Krishnaism, [[Vaishnava-Sahajiya]], is linked to the Bengali poet [[Chandidas]].{{sfn|Basu|1932}} In the [[Deccan Plateau|Deccan]], particularly in [[Maharashtra]], saint poets of the [[Warkari]] sect such as [[Dnyaneshwar]], [[Namdev]], [[Janabai]], [[Eknath]], and [[Tukaram]] promoted the worship of [[Vithoba]],<ref name="vithoba" /> a local form of Krishna, from the 13th to 18th century.<ref name=" Mahony1987" /> Before the Warkari tradition, Krishna devotion became well established in Maharashtra due to the rise of the [[Mahanubhava|Mahanubhava Sampradaya]] founded by Sarvajna [[Chakradhar Swami|Chakradhara]].<ref>''The religious system of the Mahānubhāva sect'', by Anne Feldhaus, Manohar publications: Delhi, 1983.</ref> The [[Pranami|Pranami Sampradaya]] emerged in the 17th century in [[Gujarat]], based on the Krishna-focussed syncretist Hindu-[[Islam]]ic teachings of Devchandra Maharaj and his famous successor, Mahamati Prannath.{{sfn|Toffin|2012|pp=249–254}} In southern India, [[Purandara Dasa]] and [[Kanakadasa]] of [[Karnataka]] composed songs devoted to the Krishna image of [[Udupi]]. [[Rupa Goswami]] of Gaudiya Vaishnavism has compiled a comprehensive summary of bhakti called Bhakti-rasamrita-sindhu.<ref name="Klostermaier1974" /> In South India, the acharyas of the [[Sri Vaishnavism|Sri Sampradaya]] have written reverently about Krishna in most of their works, including the [[Thiruppavai|''Tiruppavai'']] by [[Andal]]<ref>{{cite web|title=Thiruppavai|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/tpv/|work=Ibiblio|access-date=2013-05-24}}</ref> and ''[[Gopalavimshati]]'' by [[Vedanta Desika]].<ref>{{cite web|last=Desika|first=Vedanta|title=Gopala Vimshati|url=http://www.ibiblio.org/sripedia/ebooks/vdesikan/gopala_vimsati/index.html|work=Ibiblio, Sripedia|access-date=2013-05-23}}</ref> Tamil Nadu, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, and Kerala states have many major Krishna temples, and [[Janmashtami]] is one of the widely celebrated festivals in South India.<ref name="Maithily">{{cite book |last1=Jaganathan |first1=Maithily |title=South Indian Hindu festivals and traditions |chapter-url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xcIrkKUJH9QC|edition= 1st |year=2005 |publisher=Abhinav Publication |location=New Delhi |language=en |isbn=978-81-7017-415-8 |pages=104–105 |chapter=Sri Krishna Jayanti }}</ref> Summary: Please note that all contributions to Christianpedia may be edited, altered, or removed by other contributors. 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