Sudharmaswami ( or Sudharman; 607 BC – 507 BC) was the fifth
ganadhara of
Mahavira
Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...
. All the current
Jain acharya
In Indian religions and society, an ''acharya'' (Sanskrit: आचार्य, IAST: ; Pali: ''ācariya'') is a religious teacher in Hinduism and Buddhism and a spiritual guide to Hindus and Buddhists. The designation has different meanings i ...
s and monks follow his rule.
Life
Sudharmaswami was the spiritual successor of
Indrabhuti Gautama
Gautama Swami, born as Indrabhuti Gautama was the first ''Ganadhara'' (chief disciple) of Mahavira, the 24th and last Jain Tirthankara of present half cycle of time. He is also referred to as Guru Gautama, Gautama Ganadhara, and Ganadhara Gauta ...
in religious order reorganised by
Mahavira
Mahavira (Devanagari: महावीर, ), also known as Vardhamana (Devanagari: वर्धमान, ), was the 24th ''Tirthankara'' (Supreme Preacher and Ford Maker) of Jainism. Although the dates and most historical details of his lif ...
. He is traditionally dated from 607 to 507 BC. In the Jain tradition he is believed to have obtained omniscience after 12 years in 515 BC. He is believed to have attained
nirvana
Nirvana, in the Indian religions (Jainism, Hinduism, Buddhism, and Sikhism), is the concept of an individual's passions being extinguished as the ultimate state of salvation, release, or liberation from suffering ('' duḥkha'') and from the ...
in 507 BC at the age of 100. The leadership of religious order was then transferred to
Jambuswami who served for 44 years and was the last Ganadhara who survived after the death of Mahavira.
For Jains, their scriptures represent the literal words of Mahavira and the other
tirthankara
In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (; ) is a saviour and supreme preacher of the ''Dharma (Jainism), dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a ''Tirtha (Jainism), tirtha'', a fordable passage across ''Saṃsā ...
s only to the extent that the
agama texts are a series of fixed truths without a beginning or an end, and a tradition without any origin, human or divine, which in this world age has been channelled through Sudharmasvāmī.
See also
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Devardhigani Kshamashraman
*
Hemachandra
Hemacandra was a 12th century () Śvetāmbara Jaina acharya, ācārya, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, wikt:grammarian, grammarian, Law, law theorist, historian, Lexicography, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and Prosody ...
*
Hiravijaya
References
Citations
Sources
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Sudharmaswami
Indian Jain monks
6th-century BC Indian Jains
6th-century BC Jain monks
6th-century BC Indian monks
Jain acharyas
600s BC births
500s BC deaths
Ganadhara
6th-century BC Indian people