Gadya Trayam — third of the three Gadyas
Vaikuntha Gadya
वैकुण्ठगद्यम्
Bhagavad Sri: Ra:ma:nuja:cha:rya·12th century CE·1 verse·Recited daily as part of the Pa:nchaka:la observance; on Pa:nguni Uttiram; at antya-samska:ras; on the Thirunakshathram of Bhagavad Ra:ma:nuja; contemplated during the antima-smrithi at the close of life
The third and concluding Gadya of Bhagavad Sri: Ra:ma:nuja:cha:rya — the continuous prose description of Vaikuntha and the eternal kainkaryam of the freed soul to the Divine Couple. After the purushaka:ra of the Sarana:gathi Gadya and the prapatti of the Sri:ranga Gadya, the Vaikuntha Gadya answers the question every prapanna asks — what awaits the soul that has surrendered? The answer is given in Ra:ma:nuja's own prose — eternal service to Sri:ma:n Na:ra:yana together with His three consorts in the highest Heaven.
The Vaikuntha Gadya is the third and concluding prose composition of Bhagavad Sri: Ra:ma:nuja:cha:rya's Gadya Trayam — a sustained description of the supreme abode Vaikuntha and the eternal kainkaryam awaiting the soul that has surrendered. Where the Sarana:gathi Gadya opens with the purushaka:ra of Sri: and the Sri:ranga Gadya enacts the surrender at the feet of Lord Rangana:tha, the Vaikuntha Gadya answers the question that every prapanna naturally asks: what comes next? Ra:ma:nuja answers in continuous prose, drawing on the descriptions of Vaikuntha from the Pa:nchara:thra A:gamas and the Thiruva:ymozhi — the gem-pillared mandapas, the divine throne, the assembled Nithyasu:ris, and at the center the Lord seated together with His three consorts Sri:de:vi:, Bhu:de:vi:, and Ni:la:de:vi:.
The doctrinal weight of this Gadya lies in its precise theology of moksha. For the Samprada:ya, liberation is not the dissolution of the self into an undifferentiated absolute but the eternal participation of the soul in the kainkaryam offered to the Divine Couple. The Mother is not absent from the freed soul's experience of liberation — She is centrally present, seated upon the Lord's chest, the eternal purushaka:ra that secures the soul's standing in Vaikuntha as fully as Her mediation secured it on earth. The Gadya is contemplated by the prapanna during the antima-smrithi at life's close. The complete text with Periyava:cca:n Pililiai's vya:khya:na is available through the external sources linked below.
Curated Selection
Opening prose of the Vaikuntha Gadya — the complete prose pending samprada:ya-scholar verification.