* In one of the depictions, the goddess holds both the trident of Shiva and the discus of Vishnu, possibly marking her as the great goddess who transcends the duality of Saiva and Vaishnava worship.

The Agamas are predominantly divided into Saiva, Sakta and Vaishnava Agamas.

Within both the Vaishnava traditions and Hinduism generally he is known as being a manifestation of Shesha, the serpent on whom Vishnu rests.

In the Vaishnava devotional or bhakti traditions of Hinduism that focus on Krishna, Radha is Krishna's friend and advisor.

Great leaders of the Vaishnava Bhakti movement in Karnataka like Purandara Dasa, Kanaka Dasa, Raghavendra Swami and many others were influenced by Dvaita traditions.

In Dvaita ( dualism ) and Vishistadvaita ( qualified monism ) schools of Vaishnava traditions, moksha is defined as the loving, eternal union with God ( Ishvara ) and considered the highest perfection of existence.

A number of Vaishnava traditions regard him as an Avatar of Vishnu.

In the mid-20th century Mohandas Gandhi, a Vaishnava, undertook to reform these and emphasize traditions shared in all the Indian faiths:

The Vaishnava Bhakti traditions speak of five different moods, referred to as bhāvas — different attitudes that a devotee can take up to express his love for God.

Vaishnava traditions also employ a recitation of names of Lord Narasimha and reading scriptures ( notably Bhagavata Purana ) aloud.

The Kalachakra refers to many different traditions, for example the Hindu ; Saivite, Samkya, Vaishnava, the Vedas, Upanisads and Puranas traditions, but also Jainism.

* Vishnu is seen as Para Brahman within Vaishnava traditions, and the Vishnu Sahasranama enumerates 1000 names of Vishnu, each name eulogizing one of His countless great attributes.

* Krishna () is associated with Vishnu and certain Vaishnava traditions also regard Him as Para Brahman and Svayam Bhagavan ( svayambhagavān ) or the Lord Himself.

Vaishnava traditions are of the opinion that Vishnu is both unlimited and yet still capable of having specific forms, as to give arguments to the contrary ( to say that God is incapable of having a form ) is to limit the unlimitable and all-powerful Supreme.

In other Vaishnava traditions too, the Vishnu Sahasranama is considered an important text.

According to Gaudiya Vaishnava philosophy, consciousness is not a product of matter ( this is common for all spiritual traditions ), but is instead a symptom of the soul.

As part of the legacy of the Alvars, five Vaishnava philosophical traditions ( sampradayas ) have developed at the later stages.

Within Hindu traditions Vaishnava devotees commonly chant on beads made from the Tulsi plant ( Holy Basil ), held as a sacred manifestation of Tulsidevi ; whereas Shaivites use Rudraksha beads.

The Chota Char Dham included representatives from all three major Hindu sectarian traditions, with two Shakta ( goddess ) sites, ( Yamunotri and Gangotri ), one Shaiva site ( Kedarnath ), and one Vaishnava site ( Badrinath ).

In Krishna-centered theology ( Krishna is seen as a form of Vishnu by some ) the title Svayam Bhagavan is used exclusively to designate Krishna in his personal feature, it refers to Gaudiya Vaishnava, the Nimbarka Sampradaya and followers of Vallabha, while the person of Vishnu and Narayana is sometimes referred to as the ultimate personal god of other Vaishnava traditions.

Various Vaishnava traditions have different degree of adherence and various lists of texts included under the overall concept.

During the 11th century AD Ramanuja, a founder of Sri Vaishnava traditions of Vaisnavism had established the Pancharatra system of Vaisnavism for his followers and refuted the philosophy of Adi Sankara.

In certain Vaishnava sects within Hinduism, attaining unaldulterated, unconditional and incessant love for Godhead is considered the foremost goal of life.

The defeat of the Jain Western Ganga Dynasty ( of present-day south Karnataka ) by the Cholas in the early 11th century and the rising numbers of followers of Vaishnava Hinduism and Virashaivism in the 12th century was mirrored by a decreased interest in Jainism.

* A. C Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada who founded the International Society for Krishna Consciousness ( the ' Hare Krishnas ') in New York in 1965, an organization following the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism.

In Hinduism specifically the name gopi ( sometimes gopika ) is used more commonly to refer to the group of cow herding girls famous within Vaishnava Theology for their unconditional devotion ( Bhakti ) to Krishna as described in the stories of Bhagavata Purana and other Puranic literatures.

Within Hinduism, it is not uncommon to encounter assertions that the Shaiva and Vaishnava schools of Hinduism lead to moksha, or spiritual liberation, whereas Shaktism leads only to siddhis ( occult powers ) and bhukti ( material enjoyments ) – or, at best, to Shaivism.

Hinduism has been spread in Russia primarily due to the work of missionaries from the Vaishnava Hindu organization International Society for Krishna Consciousness, Brahma Kumaris and by itinerant swamis from India.

In his book, Tritiya-Prakriti: People of the Third Sex, Vaishnava monk Amara Das Wilhelm demonstrates how ancient expressions of Hinduism accommodated homosexual and transgender persons much more positively than we see in India today: " Early Vedic teachings stressed responsible family life and asceticism but also tolerated different types of sexualities within general society.

He, along with Agathocles of the same period, would be the earliest converts to the Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism.

CE ) was the author of the Chaitanya Charitamrita, a hagiography on the life of the mystic and saint Chaitanya Mahaprabhu ( 1486 – 1533 ), who is considered by the Gaudiya Vaishnava school of Hinduism to be an incarnation of Radha and Krishna combined.

Jagannātha Dāsa Bābājī ( 1776-1894 ) was an influential leader ( guru ) in the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition of Hinduism, and is respected as a Mahatma or saint by followers of his lineage.

Harivamsa Gosvami, a disciple of Gopala Bhatta Goswami, espoused a Vaishnava Theology which created the Radhavallabha Vaishnava sect of Hinduism.

Initiation into Hinduism ( Vaishnava ) and receiving the name " Sadananda " ( always joyful ).

Like Ramanuja, Madhvacharya also embraced Vaishnava theology which understood God as being personal and endowed with attributes.

According to Gaudiya Vaishnava theology, one's original consciousness and goal of life is pure love of God ( Krishna ).

According to Hindu Vaishnava theology the stories concerning the gopis are said to exemplify Suddha-bhakti which is described as ' the highest form of unconditional love for God ' ( Krishna ).

He is regarded as the Supreme God in the Vaishnava tradition and also by much of the pan-Hindu tradition.

However, the Vaishnava commentator, Parasara Bhattar, a follower of Ramanujacharya has interpreted the names " Shiva " and " Rudra " in Vishnu sahasranama to mean qualities or attributes of Vishnu, and not to indicate that Vishnu and Shiva are one and the same God.

Gaudiya Vaishnava theology is prominently expounded by Jiva Goswami in his Sat-sandarbhas, six elaborate treatises on various aspects of God.

and also between God and his energies within the Gaudiya Vaishnava religious tradition.

Vaishnava sects maintain that attaining knowledge of Brahman and identification of Atman with Brahman is an intermediate stage of self-realization, and only Bhakti Yoga can lead to the next step of Paramatman realization as the indwelling God, ultimately leading up to liberation ( Mukti ) by God-realization.