Who, amongst the following, is regarded as having combated the absolute monism of Sankara in the 12th century?
Ramanuja
Ramanuja , the eleventh century South Indian philosopher, is the chief proponent of Vishishtadvaita, which is one of the three main forms of the Orthodox Hindu philosophical school, Vedanta. As the prime philosopher of the Vishishtadvaita tradition, Ramanuja is one of the Indian philosophical tradition’s most important and influential figures. He was the first Indian philosopher to provide a systematic theistic interpretation of the philosophy of the Vedas, and is famous for arguing for the epistemic and soteriological significance of bhakti, or devotion to a personal God.
Unlike many of his contemporaries, Ramanuja defended the reality of a plurality of individual persons, qualities, values and objects while affirming the substantial unity of all. On some accounts, Ramanuja’s influence on popular Hindu practice is so vast that his system forms the basis for popular Hindu philosophyRamanuja's version of Vedanta is explicitly theistic. Brahman as Atman (the Highest Self of all) is the union of two deities: Vishnu, or Narayana, and His Consort Shri, or Lakshmi.