Within the Dvaita Vedānta vision, reincarnation unfolds against the backdrop of an unbridgeable distinction between the individual soul (jīva/ātman) and the Supreme Being (Viṣṇu/Nārāyaṇa). The soul is an eternal, unique entity that never becomes identical with Brahman and never loses its individuality, even as it passes through countless births. Across these embodiments, the same conscious subject persists as the knower, enjoyer, and sufferer, while the bodies and circumstances change from life to life. This enduring difference between soul and God is not a temporary condition but an everlasting metaphysical fact.

The mechanism of rebirth is explained through the interplay of karma and divine will. Past actions generate merits and demerits, which shape the tendencies and conditions of future births, leading to higher or lower realms and more or less favorable circumstances. Yet this karmic law does not operate independently; Viṣṇu remains the ultimate governor who assigns each birth, its environment, and its experiences according to perfect justice and sovereignty. Moral responsibility is fully real, but the unfolding of karmic results is always under the watchful guidance of the Supreme.

Dvaita Vedānta also speaks of a gradation among souls, viewing them as intrinsically diverse in their spiritual destiny. Some are oriented toward eventual liberation, some are bound to continuing transmigration, and some are associated with states of profound bondage or suffering. Reincarnation becomes the arena in which these inherent differences are progressively manifested, as each soul moves through a vast series of lives under divine supervision. Every birth thus serves both to exhaust karmic residues and to provide opportunities for devotion and righteous conduct.

The cycle of birth and death (saṃsāra) continues as long as ignorance, attachment, and unexhausted karma remain. Liberation (mokṣa) is attained through the grace of Viṣṇu, supported by devotion, right action, and true understanding of the soul’s eternal distinctness from Brahman. When such liberation is granted, the chain of rebirth is finally broken; the soul no longer returns to embodied existence. Yet even in that liberated state, the jīva does not merge into God but abides forever in Viṣṇu’s presence, enjoying unending bliss while remaining eternally dependent on and distinct from the Supreme.