प्रपत्ति
Prapatti
prapatti
In simple words
Prapatti means taking refuge. It is the act of giving yourself completely into God's care, trusting that God, not your own effort, is what saves you.
What is it?
Prapatti is complete surrender to God as the means (upaya) of liberation. It is most fully developed in Sri Vaishnavism, the tradition of Ramanuja, where it is presented as an alternative to the demanding path of bhakti-yoga, open to all regardless of caste, gender or learning. Classical accounts list its components: resolving to act in accordance with God's will, giving up what is contrary to it, faith that God will protect, choosing God as protector, entrusting oneself, and a sense of one's own helplessness. The Gita's verse on abandoning all dharmas and taking refuge in Krishna (18.66) is its key scriptural basis.
Scholar’s note
Ramanuja's Sharanagati Gadya is traditionally read as a performance of prapatti. After Vedanta Desika and Pillai Lokacharya, Sri Vaishnavism divided into Vadakalai and Tenkalai lineages, which differ over whether prapatti requires the soul's minimal effort (the 'monkey' analogy, the baby clinging to its mother) or depends wholly on God's grace (the 'cat' analogy, the kitten carried by its mother). The Tamil hymns of the Alvars are an important source.How its meaning differs
In Ramanuja's tradition, prapatti is a valid and complete means of liberation, grounded in the soul's nature as wholly dependent on and belonging to the Lord.
Across devotional traditions, refuge in God is the culmination of love; Tulsidas and other poets describe the Lord's promise to protect whoever seeks refuge.
Madhva's school stresses devotion grounded in knowledge of God's supremacy and the soul's dependence, with grace (prasada) as decisive for liberation.
Shaiva Siddhanta has a parallel emphasis on the soul's dependence on Shiva's grace, which descends when the soul is ripe.
Where it appears in the Gita
Those who take refuge in Me alone cross over maya
केवल मेरी शरण लेनेवाले मायाको तर जाते हैं
दैवी ह्येषा गुणमयी मम माया दुरत्यया।
The divine maya made of the three gunas is hard to cross, but whoever takes refuge in God alone crosses it.
तीन गुणोंवाली दैवी माया दुरत्यय है, पर जो केवल भगवान्के शरण होते हैं, वे इसे तर जाते हैं।
18.62Take refuge in Him with your whole being
सर्वभावसे उसीकी शरणमें जा
तमेव शरणं गच्छ सर्वभावेन भारत।
Go to Him alone for refuge with your whole being; by His grace you will attain supreme peace and the eternal abode.
सर्वभावसे उस ईश्वरकी ही शरणमें जा; उसकी कृपासे परम शान्ति और अविनाशी परमपदको प्राप्त हो जायगा।
18.65Be Mine: mind, worship and bow to Me, and you will come to Me
मेरा भक्त हो, मुझमें मन लगा—तू मुझे ही प्राप्त होगा
मन्मना भव मद्भक्तो मद्याजी मां नमस्कुरु।
Be My devotee, fix your mind on Me, worship Me, bow to Me; you will come to Me, I promise, for you are dear.
मेरा भक्त, मुझमें मनवाला, मेरा पूजन करनेवाला हो और मुझे नमस्कार कर; तू मुझे ही प्राप्त होगा—यह सत्य प्रतिज्ञा है, क्योंकि तू मेरा प्रिय है।
18.66Leave the support of all dharmas and take refuge in Me alone
सब धर्मोंका आश्रय छोड़कर केवल मेरी शरणमें आ
सर्वधर्मान्परित्यज्य मामेकं शरणं व्रज।
Giving up reliance on all dharmas, come to Me alone for refuge. I will free you from all sins; do not grieve.
सम्पूर्ण धर्मोंका आश्रय छोड़कर केवल मेरी शरणमें आ जा; मैं तुझे सब पापोंसे मुक्त कर दूँगा, चिन्ता मत कर।
Where else it appears
Follow this idea
Trace the idea from one source to the next.
- 1Gita verseBhagavad Gita 7.14The divine maya is hard to cross, but those who take refuge in the Lord cross it.
- 2Gita verseBhagavad Gita 18.62Take refuge in Him with your whole being; by His grace, supreme peace.
- 3Gita verseBhagavad Gita 18.66The verse Sri Vaishnavas treat as the charter of prapatti.
- 4Thinkerरामानुजाचार्यRamanujacharyaRamanuja's theology of the soul's dependence on the Lord.
- 5Traditionविशिष्टाद्वैतVishishtadvaita VedantaLater Sri Vaishnava debates over effort and grace.
- 6Conceptअनुग्रहAnugraha — graceCompare the role of grace in Shaiva traditions.
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