Mumukṣu — The Earnest Seeker of Liberation
Mumukṣu (from the desiderative of the Sanskrit root muc, 'to release') means one who desires mokṣa. In Viśiṣṭādvaita this desire is not merely curiosity: the seeker has begun to recognize the limitations of saṃsāra and longs for the soul's proper fulfilment in Bhagavad-kainkaryam.
The Mumukṣu and Rahasya-trayam: Piḷḷai Lokācārya's Mumukṣuppadi explains Tirumantram, Dvayam, and the Gītā Carama Śloka for the benefit of the mumukṣu. These rahasyas reveal the soul's svarūpa, Bhagavān as the protecting upāya, and eternal kainkaryam as the goal. A mumukṣu should receive and contemplate their meanings through Āchārya-upadeśa, but a person does not first have to master all three in order to qualify linguistically as a mumukṣu; the desire for liberation is what the word denotes.
Degrees of Urgency: The Āchārya tradition recognizes different dispositions among surrendered seekers. An ārta-prapanna cannot bear delay in saṃsāra and longs to attain Bhagavān immediately; a dṛpta-prapanna remains content to serve here as long as Bhagavān wills. These are dispositions of prapannas, not two different definitions of mumukṣu.
Adhikāra for Prapatti: Prapatti is not restricted by the Vedic eligibility rules governing bhakti-yoga. Its eligibility is explained through the seeker's inability to adopt other independent upāyas (ākiñcanya), absence of another refuge (ananya-gatitva), and dependence on Bhagavān as taught by the Āchārya. Mumukṣutva is fundamental, but the statement that a bare wish by itself is the whole doctrinal account of prapatti-adhikāra is incomplete.