Home›Hinduism›Founded ByBrowse ByFounded ByThis page groups denominations by the person credited with founding them. Wikipedia notes that the "Jehovah's Witnesses, founded in the late 1870s by Charles Taze Russell," trace directly to one named founder. Browsing by founder lets a visitor trace a denomination back to the individual who broke away and started it.FactsLearn MoreFounded BySourcesComments (0)Reader Challenges (0)FactsOverviewWhat Defines This GroupingWell-attestedThe sampradayas and philosophical schools of Hinduism, distinguished by which form of the divine is taken as supreme and by the path emphasised - devotion, knowledge, action or disciplined practice. Hinduism has no founder, no creed and no governing body. 2OriginsOrigin of the NameWell-attestedSampradaya means what is handed down: the Indian term names a lineage of transmission from teacher to disciple, which denomination translates only loosely. 3DirectoryCategoryWell-attestedDenominations 1Learn MoreThe traditions within Hinduism This group holds the major sects and philosophical traditions within Hinduism, which is less a single church than a family of related traditions sharing common texts, deities and practices. Its principal streams are defined chiefly by which form of the divine they place at the centre. The browser will find Vaishnavism (devotion to Vishnu and his avatars), Shaivism (devotion to Shiva), Shaktism (devotion to the Goddess), and Smartism, along with the philosophical schools such as Advaita Vedanta. The entries describe each tradition's chosen deity, texts and characteristic practice.Founded ByFilter Results3 entriesGenderAllMale (3)HistoricityAllHistorically attested (2)Historicity debated (1)How Its Legacy Is ContestedAllLingayat hagiography presents him as sole founder; Kalachuri inscriptions read by modern historians suggest he revived and energized an existing devotional current rather than originating it. (1)The dates proposed for Gorakhnath, credited as systematizer of the Nath Sampradaya, range across several centuries in the Encyclopedia of Hinduism (Cush, Robinson and York, eds., Routledge, 2008), and the works carried in his name belong to different periods, so the historical man cannot be separated cleanly from the order that claims him as founder. (1)Institution FoundedAllBochasanwasi Akshar Purushottam Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS), 1907 (1)Lifespan or Floruit End YearAll1167 (1)1200 (1)1951 (1)Lifespan or Floruit Start YearAll1100 (1)1105 (1)1865 (1)Notable PublicationAllVachana poetry addressed to Shiva as Kudalasangamadeva (1)Office HeldAllTreasurer at the court of the Kalachuri king Bijjala II (1)Place of ActivityAllGujarat, India (1)Northern India, with monasteries in his name from Nepal to Maharashtra (1)Place of OriginAllMahelav, Gujarat, India (1)Not established. Regional hagiographies disagree between the Punjab, sometimes naming Peshawar, and eastern Bengal; the disagreement follows the regional spread of the Nath tradition rather than any single surviving record. (1)Traditionally Bagewadi, in modern Basavana Bagewadi, Karnataka; some accounts instead place his birth at Ingaleshwar, his mother's home village. (1)Traditions Revering This FigureAllHinduism (2)BrowseCompareBasavaFounded By1 entryGorakhnathFounded By1 entryShastriji MaharajFounded By1 entrySources1. Divinity Atlas Directory Taxonomy, First Edition Category Treetier 12. An Introduction to Hinduismtier 1Gavin Flood, Cambridge University Press, 1996View the Source3. Encyclopedia of Hinduismtier 1Denise Cush, Catherine Robinson and Michael York (eds.), Routledge, 2008s.v. sampradayaView the SourceDivinity Atlas Directory Prose, First Edition Category Descriptionstier 1Comments (0)No comments yet. Be the first to share a thought.Sign in to join the discussion.Reader Challenges (0)No disputes yet. Spotted an error or a better source? Open the first one.Sign in to dispute this or suggest a correction.