Guru Jambheshwar, also known as Guru Jambhaji, (1451–1536) was the founder of the

Bishnoi Bishnoi (also known as Vishnoi) is a community found in the Western Thar Desert and northern states of India. They follow a set of 29 principles/commandments given by Guru Jambheshwar (also known as Guru Jambhoji, Guru Jambha Ji) (1451-1536) ...

Panth. He taught that God is a divine power that is everywhere. He also taught to protect plants and animals as they are important in order to peacefully co-exist with nature.

Biography

Jambheshwar ji was born in a family of the Panwar clan in the village of Pipasar, Nagaur district in 1451. He was the only child of Lohat Panwar and Hansa Devi. For the first seven years of his life, Guru Jambeshwar was considered silent and introverted. He spent 27 years of his life as a cow herder.

Founding Bishnoi Panth

Aged 34, Guru Jambheshwar founded the

sub-sect of

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism ( sa, वैष्णवसम्प्रदायः, Vaiṣṇavasampradāyaḥ) is one of the major Hindu denominations along with Shaivism, Shaktism, and Smartism. It is also called Vishnuism since it considers Vishnu as the ...

at Samrathal Dhora. His teachings were in the poetic form known as Shabadwani. He preached for the next 51 years, travelling across the country, and produced 120 Shabads, or verses, of Shabadwani. The sect was founded after the big draught in

Rajasthan Rajasthan (; lit. 'Land of Kings') is a state in northern India. It covers or 10.4 per cent of India's total geographical area. It is the largest Indian state by area and the seventh largest by population. It is on India's northwestern s ...

in 1485. He had laid down 29 principles to be followed by the sect. Killing animals and felling trees were banned. The

Khejri ''Prosopis cineraria'', also known as ghaf, is a species of flowering tree in the pea family, Fabaceae. It is native to arid portions of Western Asia and the Indian Subcontinent, including Afghanistan, Bahrain, Iran, India, Oman, Pakistan, Sau ...

tree (''Prosopis cineraria''), is also considered to be sacred by the Bishnois. Bishnoi_Temple_at_Samrathal_Dhora

Bishnoi panth revolves around 29 rules. Of these, eight prescribe to preserve

biodiversity Biodiversity or biological diversity is the variety and variability of life on Earth. Biodiversity is a measure of variation at the genetic (''genetic variability''), species (''species diversity''), and ecosystem (''ecosystem diversity'') l ...

and encourage good animal husbandry, seven provide directions for healthy social behaviour, and ten are directed towards personal hygiene and maintaining basic good health. The other four commandments provide guidelines for worshipping

Vishnu Vishnu ( ; , ), also known as Narayana and Hari, is one of the principal deities of Hinduism. He is the supreme being within Vaishnavism, one of the major traditions within contemporary Hinduism. Vishnu is known as "The Preserver" withi ...

daily.

Legacy and commemoration

The Bishnoi have various temples, of which they consider the most holy to be "Mukam Mukti Dham" in the village of Mukam in Nokha

tehsil A tehsil (, also known as tahsil, taluka, or taluk) is a local unit of administrative division in some countries of South Asia. It is a subdistrict of the area within a district including the designated populated place that serves as its administ ...

, Bikaner district, Rajasthan. It is there where the most sacred Bishnoi temple is built over

samadhi ''Samadhi'' (Pali and sa, समाधि), in Buddhism, Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism and yogic schools, is a state of meditative consciousness. In Buddhism, it is the last of the eight elements of the Noble Eightfold Path. In the Ashtanga Yoga ...

of Guru Jambeshwar. Guru Jambeshwar University of Science and Technology at Hisar in the state of

Haryana Haryana (; ) is an Indian state located in the northern part of the country. It was carved out of the former state of East Punjab on 1 Nov 1966 on a linguistic basis. It is ranked 21st in terms of area, with less than 1.4% () of India's land a ...

is named after him.And also read More about Guru Jambheshwar o
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Mukti_Dham_Mukam_Temple

References

12. about Guru Jambheshwa
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Indian Hindu religious leaders Indian environmentalists Folk deities of Rajasthan Hindu folk deities Medieval Hindu religious leaders 1451 births 1536 deaths {{India-reli-bio-stub

Biography

Founding Bishnoi Panth

Legacy and commemoration

See also

References