
Sthulabhadra (297-198 BCE) was the founder of
Svetambara Jain order during a 12-year famine in
Maurya empire in third or fourth-century BC. He was a disciple of
Bhadrabahu
Ācārya Bhadrabāhu (c. 367 - c. 298 BC) was, according to the ''Digambara'' sect of Jainism, the last '' Shruta Kevalin'' (all knowing by hearsay, that is indirectly) in Jainism . He was the last ''acharya'' of the undivided Jain ''sangha''. ...
and Sambhutavijaya. His father was Sakatala, a minister in
Nanda kingdom before the arrival of
Chandragupta Maurya
Chandragupta Maurya (350-295 BCE) was a ruler in Ancient India who expanded a geographically-extensive kingdom based in Magadha and founded the Maurya dynasty. He reigned from 320 BCE to 298 BCE. The Maurya kingdom expanded to become an emp ...
. When his brother became the chief minister of the kingdom, Sthulabhadra became a
Jain monk. He is mentioned in the 12th-century
Jain text
Jain literature (Sanskrit: जैन साहित्य) 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 c ...
by
Hemachandra
Hemachandra was a 12th century () Indian Jain saint, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, grammarian, law theorist, historian, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and prosodist. Noted as a prodigy by his contemporaries, he gai ...
.
Life
Sthulabhadra was a son of the
Dhana Nanda's minister Sakatala and brother of Shrikaya. He is traditionally dated in 297 to 198 BCE. He loved and lived with a royal dancer in Dhana Nanda's court named Rupkosa. He denied ministry after the death of his father and became a
Jain monk. His brother became the chief minister in Nanda empire later. He became a disciple of Sambhutavijaya (347-257 BCE) and
Bhadrabahu
Ācārya Bhadrabāhu (c. 367 - c. 298 BC) was, according to the ''Digambara'' sect of Jainism, the last '' Shruta Kevalin'' (all knowing by hearsay, that is indirectly) in Jainism . He was the last ''acharya'' of the undivided Jain ''sangha''. ...
(322-243 BCE). He led an ascetic life for 12 years. He spent his ''
chaturmas
Chaturmasya ( sa, चातुर्मास्य, lit=Cāturmāsya), also rendered Chāturmāsa, is a holy period of four months, beginning on Shayani Ekadashi—the eleventh day of the bright half, Shukla paksha, of Ashadha (fourth month of ...
'' at Rupkosa's home, during which she tried to lure him away from ascetic life but failed. Sthulabhadra in turn gave her vows of a Shravika (Jain laywoman).
He is said to have learned the 14 ''purvas'' (pre-canons) from Bhadrabahu and is considered as last Shrut Kevali(all knower of Jain Scriptures) in
Svetambara tradition, a claim which is rejected by
Digambara
''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being '' Śvētāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic practice of neither possessing n ...
tradition. He was succeeded by his disciples Mahagiri and Suhasti. Digambara texts state that Sthulabhadra permitted the use loincloth during the 12-year famine, a practice that started the Svetambara order.
[Sthulabhadra, Ganesh Lalwani, Jain Journal, April 1985, p. 152] He is mentioned in the 12th-century Jain text by
Hemachandra
Hemachandra was a 12th century () Indian Jain saint, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, grammarian, law theorist, historian, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and prosodist. Noted as a prodigy by his contemporaries, he gai ...
.
References
Citations
Sources
*
*
*
Jain acharyas
Place of birth unknown
297 BC births
198 BC deaths
Indian Jain monks
3rd-century BC Indian Jains
3rd-century BC Jain monks
3rd-century BC Indian monks
2nd-century BC Indian Jains
2nd-century BC Jain monks
2nd-century BC Indian monks
Śvētāmbara monks
{{India-reli-bio-stub