Bhagavata, member of the earliest Hindu sect of which there is any record, representing the beginnings of theistic devotional worship (bhakti) in Hinduism and of modern Vaishnavism (worship of the god Vishnu). The Bhagavata system was a highly devotional faith centred upon a personal god, variously called Vishnu, Vasudeva, Krishna, Hari, or Narayana. The school was referred to as ekantika-dharma (“religion with one object”—i.e., monotheism). The Bhagavatas believed in simple rites of worship and condemned Vedic sacrifices and austerities.
The Bhagavata sect originated among the Yadava people of the Mathura area of northern India in the 2nd and 1st centuries bce. From there it spread as the tribes migrated to western India and the northern Deccan and then into South India. The sect continued to be prominent within Vaishnavism until at least the 11th century ce, when bhakti was revitalized by the great theologian Ramanuja.
The Bhagavadgita (1st–2nd century ce) is the earliest and finest exposition of the Bhagavata system. By the time of the Bhagavadgita, Vasudeva (Krishna), the hero of the Yadava clan, was identified with the Vedic god Vishnu. Later, the deified sage Narayana, whose followers were originally called Pancharatras, was assimilated, and, still later, the pastoral and amorous Krishna was added to the multiplicity of traditions.
The sect contributed greatly to the spread of image worship among upper-class Hindus. Few early Vaishnava images are still extant, but those that have survived are mainly from the Mathura area; perhaps the earliest is the image of Balarama, the half brother of Krishna, attributed to the 2nd–1st century bce.