Within Pushti Marg Vaishnavism, the Shrinathji temple at Nathdwara stands as the central shrine because it enshrines Shrinathji, the principal deity of the tradition. Shrinathji is revered as Krishna in the form of Govardhan Dhari, the youthful Lord who lifted Mount Govardhan to protect the people of Vraj. In this sampradaya, Shrinathji is not regarded as a mere representation, but as the living, fully present Krishna who embodies divine grace. The temple thus becomes the visible heart of Vallabhacharya’s path, where devotion, theology, and community life converge around this specific divine form.

The entire devotional discipline of Pushti Marg is organized as seva, loving service offered to Shrinathji as a living Lord whose comfort and pleasure must be carefully attended. The temple’s daily rhythm, with its multiple darshans and elaborately structured rituals, re-enacts Krishna’s life in Vraj through waking, bathing, adorning, feeding, playing, and resting the deity. This pattern of intimate, domestic-style worship provides the model for Pushti Marg practice everywhere, shaping how devotees understand and enact their relationship with Krishna. In this way, the temple functions as the concrete expression of Vallabhacharya’s emphasis on unconditional devotion and grace as the path to spiritual fulfillment.

The Shrinathji temple also serves as the institutional and spiritual center of the Vallabhacharya lineage. It is recognized as the primary seat of the acharyas, whose authority and guidance sustain the tradition’s continuity. The distinctive customs of the temple—its seasonal adornments, musical offerings, and preparations of prasad—have become normative for Pushti Marg communities and are emulated in affiliated shrines and households. For followers of this path, pilgrimage to Nathdwara and darshan of Shrinathji represent a direct encounter with Krishna’s grace and a reaffirmation of their identity as servants on the way of Pushti.