Dvaita Vedanta is a school of Vedic philosophy within the Vedanta tradition of Hindu thought that holds an ontological dualism between the individual soul (*jiva*) and the supreme being (Brahman, identified with Vishnu/Narayana), as well as between the soul and matter (*prakriti*), and between God and matter. It was systematized by the 13th-century philosopher Madhvacharya (also called Anandatirtha or Purnaprajna), who argued that these distinctions are real and eternal rather than apparent or provisional. Dvaita stands as one of the three major sub-schools of Vedanta, alongside the monism of Advaita Vedanta and the qualified non-dualism of Vishishtadvaita, differing from both chiefly on the metaphysical status of difference (*bheda*) itself; the proper interpretation of foundational terms like “moksha” and “Brahman” is itself contested among these schools, treated more fully at dvaita-vedanta-advaita-comparison-debate.
Dvaita philosophy holds that Brahman (as Vishnu) is the only independent reality (*svatantra-tattva*), while souls and matter are real but dependent realities (*paratantra-tattva*), eternally distinct from Brahman and from one another.1) This contrasts with Advaita Vedanta's position that the perceived multiplicity of souls and world is ultimately illusory (*maya*) and that only Brahman, understood as formless and attributeless (*nirguna*), is ultimately real. Dvaita also rejects the Advaita doctrine of *jivanmukti* (liberation while still embodied), holding instead that liberation (*moksha*) is attained only after death, and that even liberated souls retain individuality and experience graded differences in their proximity to and enjoyment of God, rather than merging into an undifferentiated absolute.2)
Madhva's system further holds a doctrine of eternal predestination of souls into three classes - those destined for liberation, those destined for eternal transmigration, and those destined for eternal damnation - a position that distinguishes Dvaita from both Advaita and Vishishtadvaita and that has drawn sustained scholarly and theological discussion regarding its scriptural basis and its compatibility with divine grace.3) Dvaita theologians, notably Madhva's commentators Jayatirtha and Vyasatirtha, developed extensive logical and exegetical defenses of these positions against rival Vedanta schools, particularly in disputes over the correct interpretation of Upanishadic texts and the Brahma Sutras.
For a fuller account of the school's historical development, including Madhva's biography, the succession of the Dvaita matha tradition, and its interactions with Advaita and Vishishtadvaita over time, see dvaita-vedanta-history.
4) B.N.K. Sharma, *History of the Dvaita School of Vedanta and Its Literature*, 3rd ed. (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2000).
5) Surendranath Dasgupta, *A History of Indian Philosophy*, vol. 4 (Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 1949), chap. on Madhva's Philosophy.
6) S.M. Srinivasa Chari, *Fundamentals of the Tattvavada (Dvaita) School of Vedanta* (Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 2003).