Created by PranayMeesala
Last edited May 7, 2026


Vairagi
Regions with significant populations
India
Religion
Hinduism

Vairagi, also spelt Bairagi, is a Hindu sect who follow Vaishnavism. Celibate ascetics of Vaishnav Sampradaya are called Vairagi or Bairagi.[1][2][3][4] The Bairagis were Vaishnavite mendicants who venerated Rama or Krishna.[5]

History[edit | edit source]

The Vairagi term was first adopted by vaishnavas of Ramanandi Sampradaya.[3][need quotation to verify][6][clarification needed] Later, it became the identity of followers of all four Vaishnava sampradayas.[7][need quotation to verify]

See also[edit | edit source]

References[edit | edit source]

  1. Brian Duignan, Sadhu and swami, Encyclopædia Britannica
  2. Richard Burghart, Wandering Ascetics of the Rāmānandī Sect, p.374, History of Religions Vol. 22, No. 4, Devotional Religion in India (May, 1983), The University of Chicago Press
  3. 3.0 3.1 Gerald James Larson (1995), India's Agony Over Religion, State University of New York Press, ISBN 978-0791424124, page 116
  4. Ramdas Lamb (2008), Theory and Practice of Yoga (Editor: Knut A Jacobsen), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120832329, pages 317-330
  5. Singh, Abha. “SATNAMIS OR SADHS: CHANGING IDENTITY OF THE SATNAMIS OF NARNAUL.” Proceedings of the Indian History Congress, vol. 61, 2000, pp. 505–06. JSTOR, http://www.jstor.org/stable/44148127. Accessed 6 May 2026.
  6. Ramdas Lamb (2008), Theory and Practice of Yoga (Editor: Knut A Jacobsen), Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120832329, pages 317-330
  7. Miśra, Bholānātha (1981). Hindī santa-sāhitya meṃ pratibimbita samāja, saṃvat 1400 se 1700 Vi (in हिन्दी). Sāhityavāṇī. p. 140.