Chapter 25 – Ächärya Hemchandra
Ächärya Hemchandra was born in 1088 A.D. in the caste of Modha Vanik (merchant) in the town of Dhandhuka, sixty miles from the city of Ahmedabad in Gujarat State. His parents were Chachadev and Pahini. When Pahini was pregnant, she had a beautiful dream. She narrated her dream to Ächärya Devasuri, who was in Dhandhuka at that time. The Ächärya said that Pahini was to give birth to a son who would make great progress in the areas of spiritual knowledge, intuition, and conduct. Upon his birth the child was named Changdev.
The next time Ächärya Devasuri was in Dhandhuka, he saw Pahini carrying her son. He said to Pahini, “Let me take care of this brilliant son. He is destined to be a great spiritual leader.” However, he could not convince her to give her son to him. The Ächärya kept pursuing her and reminding her that her son would become a famous monk and would glorify the Jain order. Again, he requested that she should sacrifice self-interest and love for the child for the good of the people. Ultimately, Pahini let the Ächärya take her son with him.
He initiated Changdev into monkhood and named him Somachandra. The disciple was very intelligent and soon mastered various philosophies, logic, scriptures, Nyäya, grammar, etc. At the same time, he cultivated excellent virtues like forbearance, tolerance, holiness, simplicity, discipline, chastity, and generosity. Somachandra was incomparable in administration and efficiency. Ächärya Devasuri made Somachandra an Ächärya when he was only twenty-one years old. At that time, he was given the name Ächärya Hemchandra.
The fame of Hemchandra’s efficacy and knowledge gradually spread everywhere. The noble culture was on the rise in Gujarat due to the ability of Hemchandra and the cooperation of King Siddharäj of Gujarat. King Siddharäj was succeeded by Kumärpäl. Hemchandra had predicted seven years earlier that Kumärpäl would be the king. Also, the Ächärya had once saved Kumärpäl’s life. King Kumärpäl considered Hemchandra his spiritual teacher (guru) and benefactor. Kumärpäl gave him exceptional honor and sought his advice in the shaping of his kingdom in Gujarat. In a very short time, Gujarat became a center of non-violence, learning, and good culture.
Hemchandra did not only think of the development of his own spiritual progress, but always thought of universal welfare. In spite of this, some Brahmins were very jealous and they tried to disgrace Hemchandrächärya and Jainism. Some Brahmins approached King Kumärpäl and said, “Hemchandrächärya is a very egoistic person and he does not respect Hindu Gods.” King Kumärpäl was not ready to accept these views about his spiritual teacher, Hemchandrächärya. The Brahmins requested King Kumärpäl to invite Hemchandrächärya to come to the temple of Lord Shiva. The purpose of this was to humiliate Hemchandrächärya because they thought he would not go to the temple of Lord Shiva and bow down to him. When Hemchandrächärya came, King Kumärpäl said, “We will go to the temple of Lord Shiva.” He accepted the offer without any hesitation. The Brahmins were happy in their mind thinking that they would be able to make their point today and glorify their religion. Yet, they were wrong. They underestimated Hemchandrächärya. To the surprise of the Brahmins, Hemchandrächärya bowed down in front of Lord Shiva and said,
“Bhavbijänkura jananä Rägädyähä Kshayamupägatä Yasya; Brahmä Vä Vishnurvä Haro Jino Vä Namastasmai.”
“I am bowing down to that god who has destroyed passions like attachment (Räga) and hatred (Dvesha), which are the cause of worldly life, whether he is Brahma, Vishnu, Shiva, or Jina.”
This showed that indeed the Ächärya was a genius and had a broad-minded attitude based on basic Jain principles. Under Hemchandra’s influence, King Kumärpäl accepted Jainism. He prohibited violence and the killing of any animal in his kingdom. King Kumärpäl made many laws that nurtured the Jain religion. Vegetarianism was found not only in the Jains, but also in all the people of Gujarat. Jainism became the religion of the region.
Hemchandra composed several literary works that included many verses. The Ächärya was the first one to put non-violence on a political platform. He was the architect of the greatness and unity of Gujarat. In the field of metaphysics, he was a Yogi. His work Yoga-Shästra, a treatise on yoga, is very fmous. People called him ‘Kali-Käl Sarvajna’ meaning ‘all-knower in the dark period’. He died in 1173 AD at the age of eighty-four. The Jain culture still shines brightly in Gujarat, due to the influence of the literary works contributed by the great Ächärya Hemchandra.
Summary :
Ächärya Hemchandrächärya was the spiritual teacher of King Kumärpäl of the state of Gujarat. It is because of Hemchandrächärya that Kumärpäl accepted Jainism and became a Jain. It is because of this reason that Jainism and vegetarianism flourishes well in the state of Gujarat. Hemchandrächärya has composed many literary masterpiece works and has written treatise on many original Jain texts and Ägams.
