Sri Vaishnav Sampradaya or
Sri Vaishnavism is a
Vaishnava sect within
Hinduism, dedicated to the worship of the Vedic Supreme Being
Vishnu.
Vishishtadvaita Vedanta is its philosophy. Its origin and codification is generally traced back to the goddess
Lakshmi (Sri), the consort
Vishnu and is the oldest among the four original Vaishnava sampradayas mentioned in the Padma Puran. Around the 10th century a collection of the devotional hymns and songs by
Alvars was organized by
Nathamuni, who is considered to be one of the pioneers of the sect. Nathamuni wrote Sanskrit works systematizing the Sri Vaishnava theology, largely in debate with the philosophy of
Buddhism. He was followed by
Yamunacharya, a celebrated grand-teacher of
Ramanujacharya. Yamunacharya, like Ramanujacharya, focused both on philosophical debates like
dvaita versus
advaita and
bhakti prayers and the works attributed to him are in Sanskrit although he codified the heritage of the Alvars.