# Vaishnavism · The Canon · The Atlas · The Congregation of Tomorrow

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The Canon · No. 055
Vaishnavism
The tradition of Vishnu
c.2nd c. BCE – present · Dharmic / Indian · Living · India, Nepal, global diaspora
V. THE MEDIEVAL WORLD — c.500 – 1500 CE
### How many
### Who began it
### What it is for
### What it worships
### What it holds
### What it does
### After death
### Its texts
### Its branches
### Of note
### Its timeline
- c.2nd c. BCE The Heliodorus pillar at Besnagar, erected by a Greek ambassador who calls himself a devotee of Vasudeva — the earliest datable Vaishnava evidence, and it was put up by a foreigner.
- c.6th–9th c. CE The Alvars compose Tamil devotional poetry; bhakti begins its northward spread.
- 1017–1137 CE Ramanuja; qualified non-dualism; he reportedly proclaims a secret mantra from a temple tower to everyone, accepting damnation for himself if it saves the crowd.
- 1238–1317 CE Madhva's dualism.
- 1486–1534 CE Chaitanya in Bengal; ecstatic public kirtan; the Gaudiya Vaishnava tradition.
- 1532–1623 CE Tulsidas writes the Ramcharitmanas in Hindi, putting Rama's story into the language ordinary people spoke.
- 1966 CE A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada founds ISKCON in New York at the age of 69, carrying Gaudiya Vaishnavism worldwide.
- 1992, 2019, 2024 CE The Babri Masjid demolished at Ayodhya; the Supreme Court awards the site for a Rama temple; the temple is consecrated.
### Sources
Not yet checked against named sources. This entry is the house's reading; until it is checked, treat each claim as unverified. Correct it, with a source.
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