The world's second tallest statue in sitting pose of Ramanuja was inaugurated by the Prime Minister of India at Hyderabad recently. Which one of the following statements correctly represents the teachings of Ramanuja ?

Says exponents of the Bhakti movement like Ramanuja 'helped to restore the glory of Vedic religion', linking Ramanuja with a revival of Vedic authority.

A student could take this as a clue that Ramanuja affirmed Vedic centrality and then check his writings (e.g., Sri Bhashya) or later Vedanta summaries to see whether he treated the Vedas as authoritative and eternal.

Identifies a lineage: later teachers (Ramananda) followed 'Ramanuja's philosophical thought', indicating Ramanuja formulated a coherent doctrinal school worth transmitting.

Knowing Ramanuja founded a distinct school (Vishishtadvaita), a student can examine standard doctrinal claims of that school about Vedic status to judge the statement.

States that 'the Vedas continued to be revered as authoritative' even when other practices diverged, showing a broader cultural pattern of Vedic authority relevant to religious leaders like Ramanuja.

Use this general rule (Vedas regarded as authoritative) plus Ramanuja's role in mainstream Vaishnavism to plausibly hypothesize he accepted Vedic authority, then verify in primary doctrinal sources.

Describes Ramanuja as a 'teacher-reformer' who 'challenged the monist ideology (Advaita)' and 'modified rituals' while uniting the sect—indicating he developed explicit theological positions distinct from Sankara.

From knowing he set out defined doctrines opposing Advaita, a student could compare Ramanuja's theological claims with Advaita and orthodox Brahmanical views on the Vedas to test whether he deemed them eternal and authoritative.

Notes a contrast: some teachers (Buddha, Mahavira) questioned Vedic authority, whereas 'Brahmanical position' upheld it—helpful for situating Ramanuja within the pro-Vedic Brahmanical pole.

A student can use this contrast to argue Ramanuja, as a Brahmanical Vaishnava reformer, was more likely to uphold Vedic authority and then seek textual confirmation.

Identifies Ramananda as coming from 'Ramanuja's philosophical thought' and describes his emphasis on love and devotion (bhakti), linking Ramanuja's tradition to devotional practice.

A student could use this to infer that Ramanuja's school likely prioritized bhakti (devotion) as a route to salvation and then check primary sources on Ramanuja's Visishtadvaita doctrine to compare emphasis on meditation vs. devotion.

Explains that the Bhakti movement made salvation accessible through devotion and produced poet-saints advocating devotional paths, implying bhakti as a recognized path to salvation in traditions linked to Ramanuja.

Use the general rule that traditions associated with bhakti favor devotion as the path to salvation; then assess whether Ramanuja's teachings align with that bhakti pattern or with meditative practices.

Describes Ramanuja as a teacher-reformer who challenged Advaita and broadened social access, indicating his concern with making salvation available beyond monastic/ascetic routes.

A student could extend this to hypothesize Ramanuja emphasized accessible practices (e.g., devotional worship) rather than exclusive meditative renunciation, and then seek doctrinal texts to confirm.

States that Ramakrishna sought salvation through renunciation, meditation, and devotion — showing that meditation is a known path to salvation in some Hindu traditions, providing a comparative example.

A student could contrast this explicit example of meditation-as-salvation with the indications from Ramanuja-linked sources (above) to judge whether Ramanuja similarly taught dhyana or favored bhakti.