Dvaita Vedānta approaches the problem of evil and suffering by first insisting on a real and eternal distinction between God, individual souls, and the material world. God (Viṣṇu) is absolutely good, perfect, and untouched by any imperfection, while souls and matter are dependent realities marked by limitation and vulnerability. Imperfection, ignorance, and pain thus belong to the realm of finite beings and prakṛti, not to the essence of the divine. Within this framework, evil is not an illusion but a real feature of the created order, though always subordinate to God’s sovereignty.

A central element in this explanation is karma and moral responsibility. Each soul carries beginningless karma, and its experiences of pleasure and pain are the just fruits of its own actions across countless lives. God functions as the perfectly just dispenser of karmic results, administering consequences without Himself becoming the author of evil. Suffering, therefore, is not arbitrary; it arises from the soul’s own choices and the moral order that upholds those choices. This preserves both divine goodness and the meaningfulness of individual agency.

Dvaita further teaches an inherent gradation among souls, often articulated as different classes or capacities. Some souls are naturally oriented toward liberation, others toward ongoing worldly existence, and some toward deeper bondage and darkness. These distinctions are not temporary or accidental but belong to the very nature of each soul, explaining why some are more prone to ignorance, harmful action, and thus greater suffering. Evil tendencies are thus traced to the intrinsic constitution and karmic history of each jīva, rather than to any deficiency in God.

Material existence provides the arena in which this drama unfolds. The world, governed by God, is the field where souls encounter the consequences of their deeds and the constraints of their own nature. Suffering here serves a pedagogical and purificatory role for those capable of growth: it exposes the results of wrong action, loosens attachment, and can turn the soul toward devotion and surrender. Through scripture, teachers, and grace, God offers a path by which eligible souls may transcend their bondage and attain liberation, while still upholding the moral and ontological order that allows evil and suffering to have a coherent, though sobering, place in reality.