Indian Jain monks

Mahavira (), also known by his birth name Vardhamana (), was an Indian religious reformer and spiritual leader, considered by Jains to be the 24th and final Tirthankara (Supreme Preacher) in the current time cycle of Jain cosmology. He is believed by historians to have lived in the 6th or 5th century BCE, reviving and reforming an earlier Jain or proto-Jain community which had likely been led by Pārśvanātha, whom Jains consider to be Mahavira's predecessor. Although the dates of Mahavira's life are uncertain and historically reliable information is scarce, and traditional accounts vary by sect

Pārśvanātha (), or ' and Pārasanātha''', was the 23rd of 24 tīrthaṅkaras ("Ford-Maker" or supreme preacher of Dharma) of Jainism. Pārśvanātha is the earliest Jaina tīrthaṅkara'' who is acknowledged as probably a historical figure, with some teachings attributed to him that may be accurately recorded, and a possible historical nucleus within the legendary accounts of his life from traditional hagiographies. Historians consider that he may have lived between 8th to 6th century BCE, founding a proto-Jaina ascetic community which subsequently got revived and reformed by Mahāvīra (6th or 5th centur

Hemachandra () was a 12th century Śvetāmbara Jaina ācārya, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, grammarian, law theorist, historian, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and prosodist. Noted as a prodigy by his contemporaries, he gained the title kalikālasarvajña, "the knower of all knowledge in his times" and is also regarded as father of the Gujarati language.

Indian activist and editor

author of Cilappatikaram, the oldest Tamil epic

Neminātha (Devanagari: नेमिनाथ) (Sanskrit: नेमिनाथः), also known as Nemi and Ariṣṭanemi (Devanagari: अरिष्टनेमि), is the twenty-second tirthankara of Jainism in the present age (). Neminath lived 84,000 years before the 23rd Tirthankar Parshvanath. According to traditional accounts, he was born to King Samudravijaya and Queen Shivadevi of the Yadu dynasty in the north Indian city of Sauripura. His birth date was the fifth day of Shravan Shukla of the Jain calendar. Balarama and Krishna, who were the 9th and last Baladeva and Vasudeva respectively, were his first cousins.

Vācaka Umāsvāti, also spelled as Vācaka Umasvati and known as Vācaka Umāsvāmī, was an Indian scholar, possibly between the 2nd and 5th centuries CE, known for his foundational writings on Jainism. He authored the Jainatext Tattvartha Sutra (literally '"All That Is", also called Tattvarthadhigama Sutra). According to historian Moriz Winternitz, Umāsvāti may have been a Śvetāmbara ascetic as his views correspond more with the Śvetāmbara sect than with the Digambara sect, and that the latter is 'hardly entitled to claim him.' Umāsvāti's work was the first Sanskrit language text on Jaina philosoph

Indian Jain monk (1946–2024)

Ācārya Bhadrabāhu (c. 367 – c. 298 BC) was a Jain monk and scholar, traditionally regarded as the last Shruta Kevalin, or the final ascetic to possess complete knowledge of the Jain scriptures. According to both sects of Jainism, he was the last Shrutakevali. He is widely known as the spiritual guru of Chandragupta Maurya.

Kundakunda is the name given to the author or authors of sixteen influential Digambara texts, including Niyamasāra ("The Essence of the Restraint"), Pañcāstikāyasāra ("The Essence of the Five Existents"), Samayasāra ("The Essence of the Self"), and Pravacanasāra ("The Essence of the Teaching"). These attributions are questioned, and "only parts of some works are likely to have been written by him," showing "clear signs of interpolations" and multiple authorship.

Acharya Virasena (750–825CE), also spelt as Veerasena, was a Jain monk and belonged to the lineage of Acharya Kundakunda. He was an Indian mathematician and Jain philosopher and scholar of Digambar sect. He was also known as a famous orator and an accomplished poet. He is renowned for his work on the monumental Jain commentary series on the Shatkhandagama, known as the Dhavala texts. The late Dr. Hiralal Jain places the completion of this treatise in 816. He played a critical role in the development of Digambara scholasticism and is considered one of the greatest Jain scholars of early medieva

Mahavira's Ganadhara

Yativṛṣabha (Yativrishabha), also known as Jadivasaha, was a mathematician and Jain monk. He is believed to have lived during the 6th century, probably during 500–570. He studied under Arya Manksu and Nagahastin. He lived and worked between the periods of two great Indian mathematicians, Aryabhata (476 – 550) and Brahmagupta (598-668).

Acharya Haribhadra Suri was a Śvetāmbara mendicant Jain leader, philosopher, doxographer, and author. There are multiple contradictory dates assigned to his birth. According to tradition, he lived c. 459–529 CE. However, in 1919, a Jain monk named Jinvijay pointed out that given his familiarity with Dharmakirti, a more likely choice would be sometime after 650. In his writings, Haribhadra identifies himself as a student of Jinabhaṭasūri of the Vidyadhara Kula. There are several, somewhat contradictory, accounts of his life. He wrote several books on Yoga, such as the Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya and on

Sudharmaswami ( or Sudharman; 607 BC – 507 BC) was the fifth ganadhara of Mahavira. All the current Jain acharyas and monks follow his rule.

Acharya Jinasena (c. 770–850CE) was a prominent Digambar Jain monk, scholar, and religious leader in 8th-century India He is widely known for composing the Adipurana and Mahapurana, considered the foundational texts of Jain Sanskrit literature, and for serving as the royal spiritual advisor to the Rashtrakuta emperor Amoghavarsha. He also finished the Jaidhavala commentary started by his guru Virasena. He is distinct from the earlier Jinasena, the author of Harivamsa Purana, who belonged to the Punnata Sangh, another branch of Digambar Jainism which describes the Jain tradition about Shri Kris

Indian Jain monk (1967—2018)

founder of Taran Panth, a sect of Digambara Jainism

Siddhasenadivākarasuri () was a Jain monk of the Śvetāmbara sect in the fifth century CE who wrote works on Jain philosophy and epistemology. He was like the illuminator of the Jain order and therefore came to be known as Divākara, "Sun". He is credited with the authorship of many books, most of which are not available. Sanmatitarka ('The Logic of the True Doctrine') is the first major Jain work on logic written in Sanskrit. Among the most popular of his works, the Kalyan Mandir Stotra is a Sanskrit hymn dedicated to the 23rd Tirthankara Parshvanatha. It is one of the 9 holiest recitations (Na

9th-century Indian Jain monk

Yashovijaya (, 1624–1688), a seventeenth-century Jain philosopher-monk, was an Indian philosopher and logician. He was a thinker, prolific writer and commentator who had a strong and lasting influence on Jainism. He was a disciple of Muni Nayavijaya in the lineage of Jain monk Hiravijaya (belonging to the Tapa Gaccha tradition of Śvetāmbara Jains) who influenced the Mughal Emperor Akbar to give up eating meat. He is also known as Yashovijayji with honorifics like Mahopadhyaya or Upadhyaya or Gani.

2nd-century CE Indian Jain monk

Acharya Jnansagar or Gyansagar (1891–1973) was a Digambara Jain Acharya of 20th century who composed many Sanskrit epics. He initiated Acharya Vidyasagar in 1968 as a monk and 1972 as an Acharya.

Acharya Vijayanand Suri (6 April 1837 – 20 May 1896), also known as Atmaramji of Gujranwala, was the first Swetambar Murtipujaka Jain monk in modern times to receive the title of Acharya. Born and raised in Punjab, he was initiated as a Sthanakvasi monk and later joined the Murtipujaka tradition. He travelled extensively in Gujarat, Rajputana and Punjab; he organised and reformed Jain community, ascetic orders and literature. He wrote several books in Hindi and was invited to the first World Parliament of Religions in 1893 which was attended by Virchand Gandhi later.

Akalaṅka [IAST: Akalaṅka] (also known as Akalaṅkadeva and Bhatta Akalaṅka) was a Jain logician whose Sanskrit-language works are seen as landmarks in Indian logic. He lived from 720 to 780 C. E. and belonged to the Digambara sect of Jainism. His work Aṣṭaśatī, a commentary on Āptamīmaṃsa of Ācārya Samantabhadra deals mainly with Jaina logic. He was a contemporary of Rāṣṭrakūta king Krishna I. He is the author of Tattvārtharājavārtika, a commentary on major Jaina text Tattvārtha Sutra. He greatly contributed to the development of the philosophy of Anekāntavāda and is therefore called the "Maste

Acharya Manatunga (c. seventh century CE) was the author of the Jain prayer Bhaktamara Stotra. His name only appears in the last stanza of the said prayer. He is also credited with composing another Śvetāmbara hymn titled Namiun Stotra or Bhayahara Stotra, an adoration of Parshvanatha.

Acharya Pujyapada or Pūjyapāda (464–524 CE) was a renowned grammarian and acharya (philosopher monk) belonging to the Digambara tradition of Jains. It was believed that he was worshiped by demigods on the account of his vast scholarship and deep piety, and thus, he was named Pujyapada. He was said to be the guru of King Durvinita of the Western Ganga dynasty.

Acharya Mahashraman (IAST: Ācārya Mahāśramaṇa; born 13 May 1962) is the eleventh Acharya, supreme head of Jain Śvetāmbara Terapanth sect. Mahashraman heads all activities functioning under Terapanth organisation, most notably Anuvrat, Preksha Meditation, Jeevan Vigyan (Science Of Living). All the Terapanth sub-organisations, notably. Jain Vishva Bharati, Terapanth Mahasabha, etc. are working under the guidance of Acharya Mahashraman. His views are liberal and secular. He has a firm conviction to promote nonviolence, moral values and principles.

Shakatayana (; 814–760 BCE) was a Sanskrit grammarian, linguist, and Vedic scholar. He is known for his theory that all nouns are derived from a verbal root which contrasted to grammarian Pāṇini. He also posited that prepositions only have a meaning when attached to nouns or other words. His theories are presented in his work, Śākaṭāyana-śabdānuśāsana, which is not found in its entirety but referenced by other scholars such as Yāska and Pāṇini.

Acharya Shri Mahapragya ( Ācārya mahapragya) (14 June 1920 – 9 May 2010) was the tenth head of the Śvetāmbara Terapanth order of Jainism. Mahapragya was a saint, yogi, spiritual leader, philosopher, author, orator, and poet.

Acharya Ravisena was a seventh century Digambara Jain Acharya, who wrote Padmapurana (Jain Ramayana) in Sanskrit in 678 AD.

thumb|Sthulabhadra Sthulabhadra (297–198 BCE) was a Jain monk who lived during the 3rd century BCE. He was a disciple of Bhadrabahu and Sambhutavijaya. His father was Sakatala, a minister in Nanda kingdom before the arrival of Chandragupta Maurya. When his brother became the chief minister of the kingdom, Sthulabhadra became a Jain monk and succeeded Bhadrabahu in the Pattavali as per the writings of the Kalpa Sūtra. He is mentioned in the 12th-century Jain text Parisistaparvan (appendix to the Trisasti-shalakapurusa-caritra) by Hemachandra.