What is "vaishnavism"

Vaishnavism \Vaish"na*vism\, n. The worship of Vishnu.

n. A branch of Hinduism focusing on the worship of Vishnu.

Vaishnavism (Vaishnava dharma) is one of the major traditions within Hinduism along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism, its followers are called Vaishnavas, and it considers Vishnu as the Supreme Lord.

The tradition is notable for its avatar doctrine, wherein Vishnu is revered in one of many distinct incarnations. Of these, ten avatars of Vishnu are the most studied, while Krishna, Rama, Narayana and Vasudeva are the most popular. The tradition has traceable roots to the 1st millennium BCE, as Bhagavatism, also called Krishnaism. Later developments led by Ramananda created a Rama-oriented movement, now the largest monastic group in Asia. The Vaishnava tradition has many sampradayas (denominations, sub-schools) ranging from the medieval era Dvaita school of Madhvacharya to Vishishtadvaita school of Ramanuja. New Vaishnavism movements have been founded in the modern era such as the ISKCON of Prabhupada.

The tradition is known for the loving devotion to an avatar of Vishnu (often Krishna), and it has been key to the spread of Bhakti movement in South Asia in the 2nd millennium CE. Key texts in Vaishnavism include the Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita, the Pancaratra (Agama) texts and the Bhagavata Purana. An estimated 200 million Vaishnavas live in India.