Sri Vaishnavism stands upon a broad yet carefully ordered scriptural foundation, in which Sanskrit śruti and smṛti are harmonized with Tamil devotional revelation. At the apex stand the Vedas, revered as the ultimate authority, together with the principal Upaniṣads, the Bhagavad Gītā, and the Brahma Sūtras. These are read through the lens of Viśiṣṭādvaita, especially as articulated in Ramanuja’s commentarial works such as the Śrī Bhāṣya on the Brahma Sūtras, the Gītā Bhāṣya on the Bhagavad Gītā, and the Vedārtha Saṅgraha, which gathers and systematizes Upaniṣadic teaching. Alongside these, Vaiṣṇava Purāṇas such as the Viṣṇu Purāṇa and the Bhāgavata Purāṇa are treated as vital narrative and theological sources that illuminate the nature and grace of Viṣṇu.

A distinctive hallmark of this tradition is the elevation of the Nālāyira Divya Prabandham, the four thousand Tamil hymns of the Āḻvārs, to a status parallel to the Sanskrit Veda. These hymns, especially those of Nammāḻvār, are not seen merely as poetry but as a revealed “Drāviḍa Veda,” giving voice to the depths of devotion and surrender that the philosophical texts describe more abstractly. In lived practice, these Tamil verses permeate temple ritual, domestic worship, and theological reflection, ensuring that scriptural authority is not confined to Sanskrit alone but resonates in the vernacular heart-language of the community.

The ritual and liturgical life of Sri Vaishnavism is further shaped by the Pāñcarātra Āgamas, which prescribe the details of temple construction, consecration, daily worship, and festivals. Texts such as the Pādma Saṁhitā and the Pauṣkara Saṁhitā, together with other Pāñcarātra works like the Lakṣmī Tantra and the Ahirbudhnya Saṁhitā, provide a systematic framework for embodying devotion in concrete acts of service (arcana). Through these, the metaphysical vision of the Vedas and the emotional intensity of the Divya Prabandham are translated into a disciplined, communal liturgy centered on Viṣṇu and Śrī.

Finally, the tradition accords great importance to the writings of its ācāryas, who interpret and apply these scriptural sources for successive generations. Beyond Ramanuja’s foundational works, later teachers such as Piḷḷai Lokācārya and Vedānta Deśika elaborate key doctrines, including the inner meaning of surrender as expressed in the Rahasya-traya. Hymnic and prose compositions like the Gadyatraya (Śaraṇāgati Gadyam, Śrīraṅga Gadyam, Vaikuṇṭha Gadyam) further exemplify how scriptural truths are internalized as lived devotion. In this way, Sri Vaishnavism weaves together Veda, Āgama, Purāṇa, Tamil hymnody, and ācārya granthas into a single, integrated path of knowledge, worship, and loving surrender to Viṣṇu.