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An Āchārya (Ācārya) is the leader of an order of Jain ascetics (Munis), termed a sangh in the Jain tradition. Some of the famous achāryas are Bhadrabahu, Sthulibhadra, Kundakunda, Samantabhadra, Umaswati, Haribhadra, Hemachandra. In the Namokar Mantra, the five panch-paramsthis include Acharyas, Upadhyayas and the ordinary Munis(Sadhus).
The lineage (line of ordination) of Āchāryas goes back to Lord Mahavira Swami. After the Ganadharas (immediate disciples of Lord Mahavira), there was a lineage of Kevalis (ending with Jambuswami), who were succeeded by Shruta-Kevalis. After the last Shruta-Kevali Bhadrabahu, two separate lineages of Acharyas emerged, a Digambar lineage and a Shvetambara lineage.[1] Several lineages of the Acharyas exist in both sects. The lineages became Bhattaraka or Yati lineages when it became impossible for them to travel freely. Reforms during the British period restored the Acharya lineages (Shvetambara Murtipujak Acharya Vijayanandsuri in 1886 and Digambar Acharya Shantisagar in 1922).
According to Acharya Nemichandra (10th-century), Āchārya has thirty-six primary attributes (mūla guṇa) consisting in:[2]
- Twelve kinds of austerities (tapas);
- Ten virtues (dasa-lakṣaṇa dharma);
- Five kinds of observances in regard to faith, knowledge, conduct, austerities, and power.
- Six essential duties (Ṣadāvaśyaka); and
- Gupti- Controlling the threefold activity of:[3]
- the body;
- the organ of speech; and
- the mind.
According to the Jain text, Dravyasamgraha,
Those who themselves practise the five-fold observances in regard to faith (darśanācāra), knowledge (jñānācāra), power (vīryācāra), conduct (cāritrācāra), and austerities (tapācāra), and guide disciples to follow these observances, are the Chief Preceptors (Ācāryas), worthy of meditation.” (52)
— Dravyasamgraha (52)[4]
Chandanaji became the first Jain woman to receive the title of Acharya in 1987.[5]
- ^ भारतीय राजनीतिक चिंतन (Indian Political Thought), Jivan Mehta, SBPD Publishing House, Jun 27, 2024, pp. 79-80
- ^ Jain 2013, p. 189-191.
- ^ Jain 2013, p. 125.
- ^ Jain 2013, p. 189.
- ^ Christopher Patrick Miller; Jeffery D. Long; Michael Reading (15 December 2019). Beacons of Dharma: Spiritual Exemplars for the Modern Age. Rowman & Littlefield. pp. 7, 10–. ISBN 978-1-4985-6485-4.