<P> The Vedas, the Upanishads, the Bhagavad Gita and the Agamas are the scriptural sources of Vaishnavism, while the Bhagavata Purana is a revered and celebrated popular text, parts of which a few scholars such as Dominic Goodall include as a scripture . Other important texts in the tradition include the Mahabharata and the Ramayana, as well as texts by various sampradayas (denominations within Vaishnavism). In many Vaishnava traditions, Krishna is accepted as a teacher, whose teachings are in the Bhagavad Gita and the Bhagavata Purana . </P> <P> Vaishnavism, just like all Hindu traditions, considers the Vedas as the scriptural authority . All traditions within Vaishnavism consider the Brahmanas, the Aranyakas and the Upanishads embedded within the four Vedas as Sruti, while Smritis, which include all the epics, the Puranas and its Samhitas, states Mariasusai Dhavamony, are considered as "exegetical or expository literature" of the Vedic texts . </P> <P> The Vedanta schools of Hindu philosophy, that interpreted the Upanishads and the Brahma Sutra, provided the philosophical foundations of Vaishnavism . Given the ancient archaic language of the Vedic texts, each school's interpretation varied, and this has been the source of differences between the sampradayas (denominations) of Vaishnavism . These interpretations have created different traditions within Vaishnavism, from dualistic (Dvaita) Vedanta of Madhvacharya, to nondualistic (Advaita) Vedanta of Madhusudana Sarasvati . </P> <P> The charity or gift is the armour in the world, All beings live on the gift of the other, Through gifts strangers become friends, Through gifts, they ward off difficulties, On gifts and giving, everything rests, That is why charity is the highest . </P>

Shiva is the primary deity worshiped in the hindu tradition of vaishnavism