Vaishnavism has attracted a substantial number of persons who can be counted among its votaries, it has also been the religion of various ruling families including the emperors and foreign rulers of India. The vast literature, inspired by its philosophy and the enchanting stories connected with the faith, the best of which is exemplified in the Bhagavadgita, Ramacharitamanas of Tulasi Das, the songs of the Tamil Alvars and the Vaishnava padavalis, again show the importance of Vaishnavism as a religion and the influence it exercised in all parts of India. This treatise is a collection of lectures delivered by the learned author at the University of Calcutta. He has tried to present materials for a connected history of Vaishnavism from the Vedic to the medieval times when the Bhakti cult reached its peak of popularity. In the four lectures, Prof. Hemchandra Raychaudhuri has attempted a cogent history of Vaishnavism and has cleared the clouded issues connected with the progenitor of the cult, the true history of the life of Vasudeva-Krshna, the spread of the faith, the relationship of Bhagavatism with the non-Brahmanical creeds arid the history of the Bhagavata religion from the first century AD to later times. This work is entirely based on original material and supplies the reader with much new information on the subject.
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