Panelists: Elisa Freschi, Munema Moiz, Aneri Patel, Srilata Raman, Ajay Rao; moderated by Alessandro Graheli.

Panel Abstract: Rāmānuja is commonly recognised as the founder of the Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta school of Vaiṣṇavism, which has been one of the key players in the religious and philosophical landscape of South India for the last millennium. Among his works, Rāmānuja's Śaraṇāgatigadya, 'Discourse on Surrender to God,' is a key text in the history of Sanskrit thought and of South Asia in general (for instance, one of its verses is now part of the national hymn of India). The Śaraṇāgatigadya has been commented upon in Maṇipravāḷam (Periyavāccāṉ Piḷḷai, traditional dates 1167--1262) and in Sanskrit (by Veṅkaṭanātha, traditional dates 1269-1370, and Sudarśana Sūri, an older contemporary of Veṅkaṭanātha). The commentaries vary in length (with Veṅkaṭanātha's one being much longer) and content. Periyavāccāṉ Piḷḷai's commentary is one of the earliest examples of the engagement of scholars and teachers writing in Maṇipravāḷam with the philosophy and theology of Rāmānuja and it is therefore crucial to understand the early development of Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta. By contrast, Veṅkaṭanātha has been the main systematiser of the school. Hence, his commentary marks some elements that later became part of the "orthodoxy" of the school. In this roundtable, we will discuss some of the key topics of the Śaraṇāgatigadya as highlighted by its commentators.

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