''Shrutakevalin'' () a term used in

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 ...

for those ascetics who have complete knowledge of

Jain Agamas Jain literature () refers to the literature of the Jain religion. It is a vast and ancient literary tradition, which was initially transmitted orally. The oldest surviving material is contained in the canonical ''Jain Agamas'', which are wri ...

. Shrutakevalin and Kevalin (omniscient beings) are equal from the perspective of knowledge, but ''Shrutajnana'' is ''Paroksha'' (indirect) whereas kevala jnana (omniscience) is ''pratyaksha'' (direct). ''Kevali'' can describe infinite parts of the infinite knowledge that they possess. Shrutakevalins are learned of 14 Purvas. According to the Jain text,

Sarvārthasiddhi ''Sarvārthasiddhi'' is a famous Jain text authored by Acharya (Jainism), Ācārya Pujyapada. It is the oldest extant commentary on ''Ācārya Umaswami's Tattvartha Sutra, Tattvārthasūtra'' (another famous Jain text). Traditionally though, th ...

: "The teachers are of three kinds, namely the Omniscient

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 ...

, his disciples (''Śruta kevalis'') and the later preceptors (Acharyas). The scriptures were really taught by the Omniscient Tirthamkara, gifted with perfect knowledge of unimaginable power and splendour. The Lord is free from all kinds of impurities and is possessed of direct and perfect knowledge. Hence His word is authoritative. The Lord’s chief disciples called Ganadharas gifted with vast knowledge recollect the import of the Lord’s teachings and compose works called ''angas'' and ''pūrvas' ."Alt URL
/ref> After the

moksha ''Moksha'' (; , '), also called ''vimoksha'', ''vimukti'', and ''mukti'', is a term in Jainism, Buddhism, Hinduism, and Sikhism for various forms of emancipation, liberation, '' nirvana'', or release. In its soteriological and eschatologic ...

(liberation) 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 ...

, Gautamaswami,

Sudharmaswami Sudharmaswami ( or Sudharman; 607 BC – 507 BC) was the fifth ganadhara of Mahavira. All the current Jain acharyas and monks follow his rule. Life Sudharmaswami was the spiritual successor of Indrabhuti Gautama in religious order reorganise ...

and Jambuswami were three Kevalins. After Jambuswami, according to Digambara tradition, Vishnu, Nandi, Aparajita, Govardhan and Bhadrabahu and according to Svetambara tradition, Prabhava, Shaiyamabhava, Vishobhadra, Sabhuvijaya, Bhadrabahu and

Sthulibhadra Sthulabhadra (297-198 BCE) was a Jain monk who lived during the 3rd or 4th century BC. 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 ...

were the six Shrutakevalins. Some Svetambara don't consider Sthulibhadra as Shrutakevalin and accept only other five.

Notes

Sources

* Jain saints {{India-culture-stub