The Commentary Tradition
Vyākhyānam (Sanskrit: explanation, interpretation) is the genre of learned commentary that forms the core of the Śrī Vaiṣṇava textual tradition. For every major text — the Divya Prabandham, the Brahma Sūtras, the Bhagavad Gītā, Piḷḷai Lokācārya's cūrṇais — there are layered commentaries by successive Ācāryas who unpack the meaning, cite parallel passages, and apply doctrine to practice.
The Great Commentaries
The most celebrated Śrī Vaiṣṇava vyākhyānams include:
- Commentaries by Tirukkurukai Pirān Piḷḷān, Nampiḷḷai, Periyavāccān Piḷḷai, and Maṇavāḷa Māmunigaḷ
- Piḷḷai Lokācārya's Śrīvacana Bhūṣaṇam → Maṇavāḷa Māmunigaḷ's commentary
- Brahma Sūtras → Rāmānuja's Śrī Bhāṣya
Kālakṣepam
Vyākhyānams are traditionally studied not by reading alone but through kālakṣepam — the oral exposition by a qualified Ācārya who brings the text alive through anecdotes, application, and lineage commentary.