Ramananda is an important part of the bhakti movement. After Shankara, most sectarian and revivalist movements developed interdependently in their common stance against advaita nondualism. The movement spread through Maharashtra into the Hindi-speaking areas of northern India and to Bengal. Different sects emerged and the main sect of Rama in the Hindi-speaking areas was the Ramavats founded by Ramananda. Rama became less an avatara of Vishnu, more the totality of the divine presence.
Tradition maintains links between the poet-saints of the different sects.
The line of descent from Ramanuja and the Shri Vaishnavas may not be as close as claimed but might be an attempt to compensate for the lack of written works by Ramanuja. However, it seems that Ramananda did derive inspiration from South India. In northern India, he and his guru were influenced by tantric practices through contact with the Nath cult. Rama, the god of the Ramavats, is traced back into Aryan tradition. Indian tradition accepts that Rama belonged to an ancient Indian dynasty.