Muni Jinvijayji (27 January 1888 ― 3 June 1976) was a scholar of

orientalism In art history, literature, and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects of the Eastern world (or "Orient") by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. Orientalist painting, particularly of the Middle ...

archeology Archaeology or archeology is the study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscapes. Archaeolo ...

indology Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is ...

and

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion whose three main pillars are nonviolence (), asceticism (), and a rejection of all simplistic and one-sided views of truth and reality (). Jainism traces its s ...

from India.

Biography

Jinvijay was born in Rupaheli, Mewad near

Udaipur Udaipur (Hindi: , ) (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura'') is a city in the north-western Indian state of Rajasthan, about south of the state capital Jaipur. It serves as the administrative headquarters of Udaipur district. It is the historic capital of t ...

on 27 January 1888 to Vriddhisinh and Rajkumari. His birth name was Kishansinh Parmar. He lost his parents at early age and after his contact with Muni Devihans, he was interested in Jainism. He was initiated as Sthanakvasi Jain monk in 1903. He was later initiated in ''Samvegi'' order of

Śvetāmbara The Śvetāmbara (; also spelled Shwetambara, Shvetambara, Svetambara or Swetambara) is one of the two main branches of Jainism, the other being the Digambara. ''Śvetāmbara'' in Sanskrit means "white-clad", and refers to its ascetics' practi ...

Jain monks (Murtipujaka sect) and was given new name, Muni Jinvijay. He learned

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; stem form ; nominal singular , ,) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan languages, Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in northwest South Asia after its predecessor languages had Trans-cultural ...

and

Prakrit Prakrit ( ) is a group of vernacular classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 5th century BCE to the 12th century CE. The term Prakrit is usually applied to the middle period of Middle Ind ...

literature under Kantivijay, a Jain ascetic from

Patan, Gujarat Patan () is the administrative seat of Patan district in the Indian state of Gujarat and is an administered municipality. It was the capital of Gujarat's Chavda dynasty, Chavda and Chaulukya dynasties in medieval times and is also known as An ...

. He renounced monkhood and decided to live as a professor. He joined

Gujarat Vidyapith Gujarat Vidyapith is a deemed university in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. This institute was founded in 1920 by Mahatma Gandhi, India's " Father of the Nation" and the leader of the Indian independence movement. It has been deemed university s ...

as a principal of archeology department for few years on invitation of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (2October 186930January 1948) was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalism, anti-colonial nationalist, and political ethics, political ethicist who employed nonviolent resistance to lead the successful Indian ...

. He went to Germany in 1928 to study

Indology Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the history and cultures, languages, and literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a subset of Asian studies. The term ''Indology'' (in German, ''Indologie'') is ...

. He returned to India in 1929. He participated in the

Salt March The Salt march, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March, and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of Non violence, non violent civil disobedience in British Raj, colonial India, led by Mahatma Gandhi. The 24-day march lasted from 12 March 19 ...

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events in South Asia with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British colonial rule. It lasted until 1947, when the Indian Independence Act 1947 was passed. The first nationalistic ...

in 1930 and was imprisoned at Nasik Jail where he met K. M. Munshi. He joined

Shantiniketan Shantiniketan (IPA: �antiniketɔn is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and ...

as a professor of Jain literature and taught there from 1932 to 1936. He headed archeology department of

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on 7 November 1938 by K.M Munshi, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi. The trust programmes through its 119 centres in India, 7 centres abroad and 367 constituent institut ...

in 1939. He became honorary director of Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute in 1950. He served as a head of history and archeology department of

Gujarati Sahitya Parishad Gujarati Sahitya Parishad () is a literary organisation for the promotion of Gujarati literature located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded by Ranjitram Mehta with the aim of creating literature appealing to all classes of society and ...

. He retired in 1967. He died following lung cancer on 3 June 1976 at

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ), also spelled Amdavad (), is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 ...

Works

He had published more than 20 books and edited and translated several others.

Selected works

* ''A catalogue of Sanskrit and Prakrit manuscripts in the Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute : Jodhpur collection'' * '' Prabandhakośa'' (editor) * '' Prabandhacintāmaṇi'' (editor) * ''

Puratana Prabandha Sangraha The ''Puratana Prabandha Sangraha'' ("Collection of Old Prabandhas") is a collection of Sanskrit-language legendary biographies and anecdotes written by multiple Jain authors of India. It was edited by the Jain monk Jinvijay from several manuscri ...

'' (editor), 1936 * ''Kumārapāla caritrasaṃgraha'' * ''Karṇāmṛta-prapā'' * ''Hetubinduṭīkā'' * ''Auktikapada'' * ''Uktiyaka'' * '' Sandesh Rasak'', 1945

Recognition

He was awarded the

Padma Shri The Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī'', lit. 'Lotus Honour'), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. In ...

, the fourth highest civilian award in India, in 1961 for his contributions in the field of literature and education.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Indian Jain monks 1888 births 1976 deaths Indian religion academics Indian Sanskrit scholars Indian Indologists 20th-century Indian archaeologists Gujarati-language writers 20th-century Indian Jain writers 20th-century Jain monks 20th-century Indian monks 20th-century Indian scholars 20th-century Indian translators People from Udaipur Indian religious writers Scholars from Rajasthan