Total Sovereignty
Sarveśvara ('Lord of all,' from sarva = all + īśvara = Lord) is a title of Bhagavān Śrīman Nārāyaṇa affirming that His lordship (aiśvarya) admits no exception or boundary. Not a god among gods, but the God who is the inner self and sovereign of all other devas, all souls, and all matter.
Distinction from Other Devas
Viśiṣṭādvaita's insistence on Sarveśvaratva (the quality of being the Lord of all) is the theological basis for its refusal to treat Brahmā, Rudra, Indra, or any other deva as supreme. All devas are cit (souls) embedded in Brahman's body — however exalted, they remain śeṣas (dependents) of the one Sarveśvara.
In Devotional Usage
In the Āzhvārs' hymns, Sarveśvara is not a cold theological claim but a devotional exultation: 'My Lord is Lord of all!' — which makes the devotee's relationship with Him all the more astonishing ('such a Lord has become mine'). The contrast between His absolute sovereignty and His sauśīlya (gracious condescension) is a recurring theme of wonder in the Divya Prabandham.
[From alternate entry: sarvesvaran]
Sarvēśvaran — The Lord of All
Sarvēśvaran (Tamil-ized Sanskrit: sarva = all; Īśvara = Lord, Controller; with the Tamil honorific suffix -n) is the form by which Śrīman Nārāyaṇa is addressed in the Śrī Vaiṣṇava commentarial tradition, particularly in the works of Piḷḷai Lōkācāryar and Maṇavāḷa Māmunigaḷ. The term affirms that Nārāyaṇa alone is the supreme sovereign over both the eternal transcendent realm (Śrīvaikuṇṭham, the nitya-vibhūti) and the entire material cosmos (the līlā-vibhūti). All other controllers — Brahmā, Rudra, Indra — are themselves ruled by Sarvēśvaran, who is the antaryāmin (inner ruler) of all.
Ocean of Compassion: The context in which this term most powerfully appears in Srivachana Bhushanam is in descriptions of Bhagavān's svābhāvika kāruṇya — His natural, intrinsic, uncaused compassion. Maṇavāḷa Māmunigaḷ explains that Sarvēśvaran, though perfectly complete (pūrṇa) and dependent on nothing, looked upon the boundless ignorance and suffering of souls in saṃsāra and could not withhold His mercy. Out of pure, spontaneous compassion — not as payment for any merit in the souls — He graciously manifested the Vēdam, the Āchārya-paramparā, and the avatāras. This compassion is svābhāvika (of His very nature), not acquired or earned through any cause outside Himself.
Sarvēśvaran and the Vēdam: In Srivachana Bhushanam, the very relationship between Bhagavān and bound souls is described as the reason Sarvēśvaran revealed the Vēdam: because every jīva is eternally and inseparably related to Bhagavān as its śeṣī (owner), it cannot remain in ignorance without Bhagavān's own compassion driving Him to act. The Vēdam is thus not merely an impersonal scripture but the personal speech of Sarvēśvaran Himself — a direct expression of His desire that His own souls know Him, love Him, and return to Him.
Philosophical Import: In Viśiṣṭādvaita Vedānta, Sarvēśvaran is the śeṣī — the supreme owner and master of all souls (cit) and matter (acit). All of existence is His body (śarīra), and He is the śarīrin (the inner Self of that body). To call Him Sarvēśvaran is to affirm simultaneously His absolute transcendence (He is beyond all limitation) and His absolute immanence (He is the innermost self of every being). This theological paradox — that the Lord of all is also the innermost soul of all — is the cornerstone of Śrī Rāmānuja's Brahma-Sūtra commentary and the entire Śrī Vaiṣṇava doctrinal structure.