Viśiṣṭādvaita in Nammāḷvār’s Tiruvāimoḷi
Viśiṣṭādvaita in Nammāḷvār’s Tiruvāimoḷi
Babu Srinivasan
Abstract
This article examines how Viśiṣṭādvaita, a qualified non-dualistic Vedāntic philosophy, is embedded in Tiruvāimoḷi, the
seminal Tamil devotional work of Nammāḷvār (c. 9th century CE), the foremost among the twelve Āḷvārs of the Śrī
Vaiṣṇava tradition. Tiruvāimoḷi occupies a distinctive position as both bhakti poetry and theological text. While the formal
systematization of Viśiṣṭādvaita is traditionally associated with Rāmānuja (1077–1157 CE), this study argues that
Nammāḷvār’s hymns already contain a coherent articulation of its essential metaphysical and soteriological principles.
Through a close thematic reading of selected decads, the article demonstrates how Tiruvāimoḷi enunciates the
Viśiṣṭādvaita’s threefold ontology of Brahman, sentient souls, and insentient matter, and affirms their unity through the
doctrine of śarīra–śarīri-bhāva (the body–soul relation). It further explores Nammāḷvār’s consistent depiction of
Nārāyaṇa as Brahman endowed with infinite auspicious qualities and an exquisite physical form. From a soteriological
perspective, emphasis is placed on total surrender as the decisive means to liberation and eternal service in Vaikuṇṭa
as the ultimate goal. The article concludes that Tiruvāimoḷi contains the central doctrinal architecture of later
Viśiṣṭādvaita, even though its arguments are presented through poetic experience rather than a systematic exposition.
Keywords: Viśiṣṭādvaita, Nammāḷvār, Tiruvāimoḷi, prapatti, śarīra–śarīri-bhāva.