Within the Sri Vaishnava tradition shaped by Ramanuja, dharma is understood first and foremost as rooted in the will of Vishnu and oriented toward loving service to him. Duties are not seen as merely social or ethical conventions, but as expressions of the soul’s intrinsic nature as a dependent servant of the Lord. When carried out in this spirit, ethical conduct, self-control, and compassion become ways of aligning one’s life with the divine purpose. In this sense, dharma is both a divine command and the natural function of the soul when it remembers its relationship to Vishnu and Sri.

At the same time, Sri Vaishnavism affirms the framework of varna-ashrama dharma—duties associated with social role and stage of life—as flowing from Vedic revelation. These obligations are to be honored, yet they are not ultimate ends in themselves. Their value lies in purifying the mind, removing karmic obstacles, and preparing the ground for deeper devotion. One is encouraged to fulfill worldly responsibilities while consciously offering them to Vishnu, so that ordinary life becomes a field for God-centered living rather than a distraction from it.

Within this hierarchy of meanings, devotion (bhakti) and surrender (prapatti) are regarded as the highest form of dharma. When conventional duties and the demands of devotion come into tension, the call of loving service to Vishnu takes precedence. Prapatti, understood as complete self-surrender to Vishnu through the mediating grace of Sri, is held to transcend the need for perfect observance of all other dharmic obligations. After such surrender, the primary “duty” becomes to cultivate what nourishes devotion and to avoid what obstructs it, relying not on personal merit but on divine grace.

Finally, Sri Vaishnavism emphasizes that this supreme dharma of devotion is not lived in isolation. Service to Vishnu naturally extends to service of his devotees and the Vaishnava community, which is regarded as closely linked to serving the Lord himself. Thus, dharma encompasses a balanced life: honoring traditional roles, engaging in the world responsibly, and yet steadily subordinating every action to the overarching aim of loving, surrendered service to Vishnu.