When the Forest Meets the empire

Tradition, adaptation, and Change in the nimbārka Sampradāya

Abstract

This article examines the Nimbārka Sampradāya, a distinctive Vaiṣṇava tradition often marginalized in scholarship, tracing its evolution from a forest-dwelling renunciant order to one with imperial patronage. It highlights the challenges in accurately dating its founder, Nimbārka, but asserts his unique contributions, including being the first Vedāntin to equate Brahman with Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa and to offer diverse mokṣa-sādhanās (paths to liberation) accessible to various aspirants, including women and śūdras. The paper discusses the tradition's shift from its original itinerant, peripheral existence, characterized by simple living and the use of mobile Śālagrāma icons, to seeking royal support in Rajasthan during the Mughal Empire. This adaptation, spurred by the loss of access to sacred Vrindāvan lands, led to the emergence of two distinct dispositions within the sampradāya: the traditional renunciant and the court-sanctified Vaiṣṇava. The article underscores the Nimbārka tradition's historical significance and its unique theological and social characteristics.