Within Vaishnavism, karma and reincarnation are understood as real and binding principles, yet always situated within a larger devotional relationship to Vishnu and his avatars. Karma is seen as moral causality: every intentional action—physical, verbal, or mental—yields corresponding results that shape one’s experiences of pleasure and pain, and determine future births. This law of cause and effect binds the individual soul to saṁsāra, the ongoing cycle of birth and death, regardless of whether the karma is “good” or “bad.” Even auspicious actions that lead to higher realms or more favorable births do not, by themselves, free the soul from this cycle. Reincarnation, therefore, is the repeated embodiment of the eternal soul in various forms—human, animal, celestial, or other states—according to its accumulated karma and inner dispositions.

At the same time, Vaishnavism places decisive emphasis on bhakti, loving devotion to Vishnu, as the means to transcend karmic bondage and bring the cycle of rebirth to an end. The individual soul is understood as eternal and distinct, yet utterly dependent on Vishnu, and it is through surrender (śaraṇāgati or prapatti) and sustained devotional practice that the soul’s karmic entanglements can be neutralized or “burnt up.” Acts performed in pure devotion are regarded as qualitatively different from ordinary action: rather than generating further binding karma, they deepen the soul’s relationship with the Lord. Divine grace (kṛpā, prasāda) is central here; liberation is not merely the mechanical outcome of accumulated merit, but the gift of Vishnu’s favor responding to sincere devotion.

Liberation (mokṣa), as envisioned in Vaishnavism, is not a formless absorption but a positive, eternal state of loving service and association with Vishnu in his spiritual abode, such as Vaikuṇṭha or Goloka. When such liberation is granted, the soul no longer reincarnates, and karmic reactions cease to bind it. Different Vaishnava schools may nuance the mechanics of karma and grace, yet they converge on a shared vision: karma drives the cycle of rebirth, and devotion to Vishnu—culminating in pure bhakti—stands as the path by which that cycle is finally transcended.