Sri Vallabhacharya BhattaSri Vallabhacharya's family are Telugu Brahmins who belong to Bhṛgu Vamsha, and their Gotra is Srivatsa, also called Bhargava. This family hails from a village on the southern bank of the Godavari River in Andhra Pradesh but had migrated to Varnasi in the 1500s. By the age of eleven, he had mastered Vedas, Vedanta, six Shastras, and some Puranas, with the Srimad Bhagavatam being his favorite. When an adult, Sri Vallabhacharya, went to visit his ancestral village, he heard there was a philosophical debate being hosted by the King of Vijayanagara Kingdom, Krishnadevaraya. He went to participate in the discussion, which was divided into two camps: the Vaishnava camp led by Acharya Vyasatirtha of the Madhva school, and the other side was the Advaita Vedanta camp. Sri Vallabhacharya joined the Vaishnava camp and, with his erudite and expert debating skills, defeated the Advaita Vedanta camp, winning a large reward from the King. He was also granted the prestigious title of "Acharya" from the Madhva Sampradaya and also the Vishnusvami Sampradaya. Sri Vallabhacharya chose to become an Acharya of the Vishnusvami school. Read More Read Less