Acharya Vijay Vallabhsuri was a Jain monk. He was a disciple of

Vijayanandsuri Acharya Vijayanand Suri (6 April 1837 – 20 May 1896), also known as Atmaramji of Gujranwala, was the first Swetambar Murtipujaka Jain monk in modern times to receive the title of Acharya. Born and raised in Punjab, he was initiated as a Sthanak ...

. He worked in

Punjab Punjab (; ; also romanised as Panjāb or Panj-Āb) is a geopolitical, cultural, and historical region in South Asia. It is located in the northwestern part of the Indian subcontinent, comprising areas of modern-day eastern Pakistan and no ...

so he was given honorific ''Punjab Kesari''.

Biography

Vallabhsuri was born on 26 October 1870 (Second day of bright half of Kartik month,

Vikram Samvat Vikram Samvat (ISO: ''Vikrama Saṁvata''; abbreviated VS), also known as the Vikrami calendar is a Hindu calendar historically used in the Indian subcontinent and still also used in several Indian states and Nepal. It is a lunisolar calendar ...

1927) at

Vadodara Vadodara (), also known as Baroda, is a city situated on the banks of the Vishwamitri River in the Indian state of Gujarat. It serves as the administrative headquarters of the Vadodara district. The city is named for its abundance of banyan ...

Gujarat Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...

. He was named Chhagan. His parents Deepchand and Ichhabai died in his early years. He met

at Janisheri Jain Upashray,

. At the age of seventeen, he was initiated as a Jain monk and named Muni Vallabhvijay on 5 May 1887 (Jayesth Vad 9, Vikram Samvat 1944) at

Radhanpur Radhanpur is a village and a gram panchayat in Patan district in the Indian States and territories of India, state of Gujarat. Origin of name According to the tradition, this village is named after Radhan Khan, a descendant of Fateh Khan Baloch. ...

by Vijayanandsuri and he became a disciple of Muni Harshvijay. In Vikram Samvat 1981, he was conferred with the title of Acharya on Magshirsh Sudi 5 by Sumativijay at

Lahore Lahore ( ; ; ) is the capital and largest city of the Administrative units of Pakistan, Pakistani province of Punjab, Pakistan, Punjab. It is the List of cities in Pakistan by population, second-largest city in Pakistan, after Karachi, and ...

. He also had the title of ''Pattadhar'' conferred on him by Jain sangha. Vallabhsuri was in

Gujranwala Gujranwala is the List of cities in Punjab, Pakistan by population, fourth most-populous city in the Pakistani province of Punjab. Located in northern-central Punjab's Rachna Doab, it serves as the headquarters of its Gujranwala District, epony ...

for

Chaturmas Chaturmasya (; Pali: ''Catumāsa''), also rendered Chāturmāsa, is a holy period of four months, beginning on Shayani Ekadashi (June-July) and ending on Prabodhini Ekadashi (October-November) in Hinduism. This period also coincides with the m ...

in 1947. Due to the

partition of India The partition of India in 1947 was the division of British India into two independent dominion states, the Dominion of India, Union of India and Dominion of Pakistan. The Union of India is today the Republic of India, and the Dominion of Paki ...

, Gujaranwala fell in

Pakistan Pakistan, officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan, is a country in South Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by population, fifth-most populous country, with a population of over 241.5 million, having the Islam by country# ...

. There was a widespread communal violence across both nations. He refused to travel by aeroplane which was arranged by the Government of India as Jain monks do not use vehicles. He travelled by foot along with other Jains of Gujaranwala and entered India via the Wagah Border and reached

Amritsar Amritsar, also known as Ambarsar, is the second-List of cities in Punjab, India by population, largest city in the India, Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab, after Ludhiana. Located in the Majha region, it is a major cultural, transportatio ...

in September 1947. Vallabhsuri placed emphasis on education and inspired Jains to build more educational institutions. He is well known as the founder of Shree Parshwanath Jain Vidyalaya in 1927 at Varkana Village in Pali district of Rajasthan. The seed which he sowed has taken shape of a dense tree in Godwad area of Rajasthan. He founded Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya (at

Mumbai Mumbai ( ; ), also known as Bombay ( ; its official name until 1995), is the capital city of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Mumbai is the financial capital and the most populous city proper of India with an estimated population of 12 ...

Pune Pune ( ; , ISO 15919, ISO: ), previously spelled in English as Poona (List of renamed Indian cities and states#Maharashtra, the official name until 1978), is a city in the state of Maharashtra in the Deccan Plateau, Deccan plateau in Western ...

), Parshwanath Umed Mahavidyalaya (at Falna), Atmanand Jain College (at

Ambala Ambala () is a city and a municipal corporation in Ambala district in the state of Haryana, India, located on the border with the Indian state of Punjab (India), Punjab and in proximity to both states capital Chandigarh. Politically, Ambala ...

Malerkotla Malerkotla is a city and the district headquarters of Malerkotla district in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It served as the seat of the eponymous princely state during the British Raj. The state acceded to the Dominion of India, un ...

), Atmanand Jain High School (

Ludhiana Ludhiana () is the most populous Cities in India, city in the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab.164.100.161.224 http://164.100.161.224 › filesPDF Ludhiana State: Punjab Business & Industrial Centre, Tier 2 1 ... The city has an estima ...

, Bagwada,

Hoshiarpur Hoshiarpur () is a city and a Municipal corporations in India, municipal corporation in Hoshiarpur district in the Doaba region of the Indian state of Punjab, India, Punjab. It was founded, according to tradition, during the early part of the ...

, Jandiala Guru) and other educational institutes. He wrote some books and religious texts in Hindi, Gujarati, Punjabi Languages. He also established the Atmanand Jain Sabha. He was also instrumental in establishing Jain unity and accessibility of Jain literature. He supported

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 ...

's non-violent movement for independence of India. He died on 22 September 1954 (Bhadrapad Vadi 11,

2010), Tuesday at 2:32 am in

Byculla Byculla (ISO: Bhāykhaḷā; pronunciation: ʱaːjkʰəɭaː is an area of South Mumbai. Location Byculla is neighboured by Nagpada and Mumbai Central and Mahalaxmi on the west; Agripada, Jacob Circle on the north-west: Chinchpokli to t ...

. More than two lakh people attended his funereal procession. A memorial dedicated to him was built there later.

Recognition

Shri Atma Vallabh Jain Smarak, a memorial shrine in

Delhi Delhi, officially the National Capital Territory (NCT) of Delhi, is a city and a union territory of India containing New Delhi, the capital of India. Straddling the Yamuna river, but spread chiefly to the west, or beyond its Bank (geography ...

, was erected to honour him. It is managed by Shree Atma Vallabh Jain Smarak Shikshan Nidhi. The

India Post The Department of Posts, d/b/a India Post, is an Indian Public Sector Undertakings in India, public sector postal system statutory body headquartered in New Delhi, India. It is an organisation under the Ministry of Communications (India), Minist ...

issued a postage stamp of Vallabhsuri on 21 February 2009 which depicted his image along with Vijay Vallabh Smarak as a background image. The high statue was installed at the Vijay Vallabh Sadhana Kendra at Jaitpura in

Pali Pāli (, IAST: pāl̤i) is a Classical languages of India, classical Middle Indo-Aryan languages, Middle Indo-Aryan language of the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pali Canon, Pāli Can ...

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; Literal translation, lit. 'Land of Kings') is a States and union territories of India, state in northwestern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the List of states and union territories of ...

with efforts Nityanandsuri. It is made of ashtadhatu and was inaugurated by Prime Minister

Narendra Modi Narendra Damodardas Modi (born 17 September 1950) is an Indian politician who has served as the Prime Minister of India, prime minister of India since 2014. Modi was the chief minister of Gujarat from 2001 to 2014 and is the Member of Par ...

on the 151st birth anniversary of Vallabhsuri on 16 November 2020.

References

External links

Atma Vallabh Smarak Jain Mandir

Postage stamp
{{Jainism topics Jain acharyas Scholars of Jainism 1870 births 1954 deaths Gujarati people Gujarati-language writers Indian Jain monks 19th-century Indian Jains 19th-century Jain monks 19th-century Indian monks 20th-century Indian Jain writers 20th-century Jain monks 20th-century Indian monks Śvetāmbara monks

Biography

Recognition

See also

References

External links