Within Dvaita Vedānta, Viṣṇu (Nārāyaṇa) is affirmed as the one absolutely independent reality (svatantra tattva), the Supreme Brahman distinct from all else. Souls (jīvas) and the world of matter (prakṛti or jaḍa) are real, but they are entirely dependent (paratantra) on Him for their existence, activity, and destiny. He alone is the creator, sustainer, and destroyer of the universe, the efficient cause who governs all processes according to His will and justice, while remaining eternally superior to and distinct from what He creates. This radical distinction between God, souls, and matter is central: there is never an identity of the jīva with Brahman, and Viṣṇu’s transcendence is maintained even as He pervades and supports all.

Dvaita presents Viṣṇu as a fully personal God, endowed with consciousness, will, and purpose, who responds to devotion and manifests in various incarnations (avatāras) to protect dharma and guide beings. He is the inner controller (antaryāmin) of all, present everywhere through His divine power, yet never reduced to the world or the individual soul. His form is not symbolic or illusory; He possesses a real, eternal, divine form (often described as sac-cid-ānanda-rūpa or divya-rūpa) and a transcendent abode, Vaikuṇṭha, from which He exercises lordship over all realms. Other deities are acknowledged but regarded as finite and dependent, ontologically subordinate to Viṣṇu as the one Parabrahman.

A distinctive emphasis of Madhvācārya’s teaching is that Viṣṇu possesses infinite auspicious attributes (ananta-kalyāṇa-guṇa), which are real, eternal, and intrinsic to His very nature. These include perfect knowledge (jñāna, sarvajñatva), unlimited power (bala, sarvaśakti), sovereignty (aiśvarya), unfailing energy (vīrya), radiance and majesty (tejas), as well as omnipresence, compassion (karuṇā), and bliss. He is entirely free from all defects or limitations—ignorance, sorrow, change, or moral imperfection have no place in Him. These qualities exist in Him in their highest, limitless form, and they mark an absolute gulf between the perfection of God and the finitude of all created beings.

From the standpoint of spiritual practice, Viṣṇu is the supreme object of devotion, worship, and love, and the entire moral and karmic order is grounded in His will. All souls and their karmic fruits are under His control; He dispenses results with perfect justice, yet the final attainment of liberation (mokṣa) rests on His grace (anugraha). Bhakti, or loving devotion to Viṣṇu, becomes the privileged means of opening oneself to that grace, by which the soul is freed from bondage while remaining eternally distinct from God. In this way, Dvaita Vedānta portrays a universe of real plurality and hierarchy, held together by the sovereign, personal, and infinitely perfect reality of Viṣṇu.