Dvaita Vedānta, as articulated by Madhvācārya, presents a distinctly theistic and exclusivist vision in which Viṣṇu is upheld as the supreme reality and the Veda, rightly interpreted, as the sole ultimately valid śāstra. Any system that denies the eternal and real difference between God, individual souls, and the material world is regarded as fundamentally mistaken and spiritually hazardous. Other religions and philosophies may be acknowledged as containing partial truths, especially where they affirm a personal God, devotion, and ethical living, yet they are seen as incomplete and finally inadequate as guides to ultimate reality. This stance arises from the conviction that only a clear recognition of Viṣṇu’s supremacy and the irreducible distinction between the divine, the soul, and matter can ground a sound metaphysics and a reliable path to liberation.

Within the broader landscape of Hindu thought, Dvaita engages other Vedānta schools with sharp critique. Advaita’s non-dualism is rejected as both logically flawed and contrary to scripture, precisely because it dissolves the real individuality of the soul and the world into an undifferentiated Brahman. Viśiṣṭādvaita and other qualified theistic systems are granted a somewhat higher regard, since they affirm a personal God and devotion, yet they are still judged to fall short in fully safeguarding the eternal distinctness of souls from Brahman. Other Hindu philosophical traditions—such as Nyāya, Sāṅkhya, Yoga, and Mīmāṃsā—are appreciated where they support theism, logic, and ethical practice, but are corrected wherever they conflict with Dvaita’s understanding of Viṣṇu’s supremacy and the soul’s radical dependence on divine grace.

When turning toward non-Hindu or non-Vedic religions and heterodox Indian systems, Dvaita Vedānta maintains the same hierarchical and exclusivist orientation. Traditions like Buddhism, Jainism, and materialist schools are classed as ultimately opposed to true theism, their ethical or devotional elements seen as overshadowed by serious metaphysical error. Other theistic religions are sometimes viewed as affirming important truths—such as the existence of a personal God and a moral order—yet as lacking the full and precise revelation of Viṣṇu and the detailed metaphysics that Dvaita claims to preserve. From this perspective, such paths may assist certain souls to a degree, but they do not offer a final or fully authoritative route to liberation.

Underlying all these evaluations is a pronounced sense of hierarchy, both among doctrines and among spiritual paths. Dvaita Vedānta teaches that there are gradations of truth: some systems function as preparatory or lower-level insights, while the Dvaita interpretation of Vedānta is held to be the uniquely complete and saving knowledge. Liberation is said to depend on right understanding of Viṣṇu as taught in the Veda and clarified by Madhva’s lineage, together with devotion and divine grace. Other religions and philosophies are thus measured by how closely they approximate this standard, and the further they diverge from it, the more they are regarded as erroneous and spiritually risky.