Probably as late as the 1st century CE, the cult of the Vrishni heroes (Vīravāda) retained more importance than the Vyuha doctrine (Vyūhavāda), the subsequent cult of emanations that evolved from the Vrishni hero cult. Still later, it evolved into the Avatāravāda system of incarnations of Vishnu. Overall, according to Doris Srinivasan, the absorption of the Vrishni hero into the Vaishnava worship is very gradual. The amalgamation process was preceded and concurrent with a cult of several Vrishni heroes.