Hindu mendicants with sect-marks.
2. The four Sampradāyas or main orders.
It is generally held that there are four Sampradāyas or main sects of Bairāgis. These are—
(a) The Rāmānujis, the followers of the first prominent Vishnuite reformer Rāmānuj in southern India, with whom are classed the Rāmānandis or adherents of his great disciple Rāmānand in northern India. Both these are also called Sri Vaishnava, that is, the principal or original Vaishnava sect.
(b) The Nīmānandi, Nīmāt or Nīmbāditya sect, followers of a saint called Nīmānand.
(c) The Vishnu-Swāmi or Vallabhachārya sect, worshippers of Krishna and Rādha.
(d) The Mādhavachārya sect of southern India.
It will be desirable to give a few particulars of each of these, mainly taken from Wilson’s Hindu Sects and Dr. Bhattachārya’s Hindu Castes and Sects.