A History of Sanskrit Literature c18.35

c18.35

Among the many commentaries on the *Brahma-sūtras* subsequent to Çankara, the most important is that of Rāmānuja, who lived in the earlier half of the twelfth century. This writer gives expression to the views of the Pāñcharātras or Bhāgavatas, an old Vishnuite sect, whose doctrine, closely allied to Christian ideas, is expounded in the *Bhagavadgītā* and the *Bhāgavata-purāṇa*, as well as in the special text-books of the sect. The tenets of the Bhāgavatas, as set forth by Rāmānuja, diverge considerably from those of the *Brahma-sūtras* on which he is commenting. For, according to him, individual souls are not identical with God; they suffer from innate unbelief, not ignorance, while belief or the love of God (*bhakti*), not knowledge, is the means of salvation or union with God.