Prapatti

Prapatti (“self-surrender,” sharanagati — “taking refuge”) is the Sri Vaishnava doctrine of salvation by complete surrender to the Lord — the bhakti path’s precipitous gate: not effort but giving up of all effort to God’s grace.

Overview

The doctrine of Ramanuja’s school (and its two sub-schools’ famous quarrel: the Vadakalai “markata-kishora” — the monkey-young who must cling by effort — versus the Tenkalai “marjara-kishora” — the cat-young carried wholly by the mother’s grace); the texts (the Gita’s sarva-dharman parityajya, ch. 18.66, as the root verse; the Rahasyatrayasara’s systematization); the five limbs of prapatti (the resolve, the refusal of resistance, the faith, the prayer for protection, the acceptance of one’s helplessness).

Philosophical Context

Against karma-yoga and jnana’s slow paths, prapatti is the immediate resort (open to all castes and capacities — its social radicalism); the theology of the Lord’s kalyana-gunas (his qualities that make surrender safe); the acharya’s role (performing the surrender for or with the disciple).

Practice

The sharanagati-gadya of Ramanuja (the liturgical surrender), the daily remembrance of one’s surrendered state, and the sangha’s care (the surrendered community’s obligations).

Verification notes

• The sub-school debate and the doctrinal limbs follow Sri Vaishnava literature.
• Audited against Wikipedia (September 2026).