A Comparative Study of Śrīmanta Śaṅkaradeva and Rāmānuja: Theological, Philosophical and Social Dimensions of Bhakti

Ratul Borah

A Comparative Study of Śrīmanta Śaṅkaradeva and Rāmānuja: Theological, Philosophical and Social Dimensions of Bhakti

Author(s)	Dr. Ratul Borah
Country	India
Abstract	Abstract Śrīmanta Śaṅkaradeva (1449–1568) and Rāmānuja (c. 1017–1137) are two of the most influential figures in the history of Vaiṣṇava thought in India. Although they belonged to different historical periods and regional contexts, both placed devotion (bhakti) to the Supreme Being at the centre of religious life. Rāmānuja developed a systematic philosophical doctrine known as Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta, or qualified non-dualism, whereas Śaṅkaradeva articulated the religious philosophy of Eka Śaraṇa Nāmadharma, centred on exclusive devotion to Kṛṣṇa and the remembrance and recitation of the divine name. The two thinkers therefore share important theological affinities while differing substantially in their philosophical formulations, conceptions of Brahman, the relationship between God, soul and world, the nature of liberation, and the institutional expression of religious life. This article offers a comparative study of the philosophies of Śaṅkaradeva and Rāmānuja. It argues that their similarities are most visible in their rejection of purely abstract conceptions of ultimate reality and their emphasis on a personal and gracious God accessible through devotion. Their differences become clearer when one examines their treatment of the relationship between jīva, jagat, and Īśvara, the status of the material world, the role of ritual and caste, and the meaning of liberation. Rāmānuja formulated a comprehensive Vedāntic metaphysics in which Brahman is qualified by real sentient and non-sentient entities, while Śaṅkaradeva's thought is primarily devotional and scriptural, with Kṛṣṇa as the supreme object of exclusive surrender. The study concludes that Śaṅkaradeva should not simply be classified as another exponent of Viśiṣṭādvaita; rather, his thought represents an independent Assamese development of Vaiṣṇava bhakti that shares significant theological ground with Rāmānuja while pursuing distinctive social, cultural and religious objectives.
Keywords	Śaṅkaradeva, Rāmānuja, Viśiṣṭādvaita, Eka Śaraṇa Nāmadharma, Vaiṣṇavism, Bhakti, Kṛṣṇa, Brahman, liberation, Assamese Neo-Vaiṣṇavism
Field	Arts
Published In	Volume 7, Issue 5, September-October 2026
Published On	2026-09-04

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A Comparative Study of Śrīmanta Śaṅkaradeva and Rāmānuja: Theological, Philosophical and Social Dimensions of Bhakti

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