ABSTRACT
This chapter focuses on the interpretations of the Bhagavad-gītā in the writings of three prominent Shrivaishnavas: the Gitartha-Sangraha of Yamuna (10th century CE), the Bhagavad-Gītā-Bhashya of Ramanuja (11th century), and the commentaries of Vedantadeshika (13th and 14th centuries) on both. The chapter discusses points of hermeneutic contention in two kinds: the Ramanuja’s critique of Advaita interpretations of the text and the intra-Shrivaishnava polemics on the relative value of bhakti-yoga and prapatti around the meaning Bhg 18.66, the so-called carama-shloka, or ultimate teaching, between the northern Shrivaishnava theologians of Kanci and the southern Shrivaishnava theologians of Shrirangam.
