Creation as Divine Activity
Sṛṣṭi ('creation,' 'emission,' from sṛj = to emit) is the first of the five great cosmic activities (pañca-kṛtya) attributed to Brahman in Vishishtadvaita: sṛṣṭi (creation), sthiti (sustenance), saṃhāra (dissolution), tirodhāna (concealment), and anugraha (grace/liberation). These five describe the complete cycle of Brahman's relationship to the universe.
Not Creation from Nothing
Vishishtadvaita understands sṛṣṭi not as creation from nothing (ex nihilo, which is the Abrahamic concept) but as the unfolding of what was already present in a subtle (sūkṣma) state within Brahman. At the time of pralaya (dissolution), Prakṛti (matter) and the jīvas (souls) return to a subtle, undifferentiated state within Brahman. Sṛṣṭi is the re-manifestation of this potential in differentiated, gross form.
Driven by Karma and Divine Grace
The specific forms that beings receive in sṛṣṭi are determined by their accumulated karma from previous cycles. The Lord is not arbitrary in assigning forms: the spider-in-a-human-body or the sage-in-a-bird-body arrangement reflects the precise justice of karma. Yet the Lord's grace operates within this karmic structure — He creates the conditions (including the body's faculties) that enable the jīva to eventually attain liberation.
Rāmānuja's Account
Rāmānuja's account of sṛṣṭi in the Śrī Bhāṣyam follows the Upaniṣadic sequence: from Brahman's will, Ākāśa (space) arises; from Ākāśa, Vāyu (air); from Vāyu, Agni (fire); from Agni, Jala (water); from Jala, Pṛthivī (earth) — each level of creation emerging from and pervaded by Brahman.