Jambuvijaya (1923–2009), also known as Muni Jambuvijayji Maharajsaheb, was a

monk A monk (, from el, μοναχός, ''monachos'', "single, solitary" via Latin ) is a person who practices religious asceticism by monastic living, either alone or with any number of other monks. A monk may be a person who decides to dedica ...

belonging to the

Tapa Gaccha Tapa Gaccha is the largest Gaccha (monastic order) of Svetambara Jainism. History Tapa Gaccha was founded by Acharya Jagatchandra Suri in Vikram Samvat 1285 (1228 AD). He was given the title of "Tapa" (i.e., the meditative one) by the ruler ...

order of Svetambara sect of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

. He was known for his pioneering work in research, cataloguing and translations of ''

Jain Agamas 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 ca ...

'' and ancient texts. He was responsible for discovering and publishing many ancient Jains texts lying in different forgotten Jain ''jnana bhandaras'' (ancient Jain libraries). He was a disciple of Muni Punyavijay. Both Muni Punyavijay and Jambuvijay worked all their life in the compilation and publication of ancient Jain Agama literature and cataloguing ancient Jain jnana bhandaras. Muni Jambuvijay was a scholar who devoted his entire life to critically editing Jain scriptures.

Early life and family

Jambuvijaya was born as Chunilal Bhogilal Joitram in 1923 in town of Mandal,

Gujarat Gujarat (, ) is a state along the 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 fifth-largest Indian state by area, covering some ; and the ninth ...

. His father's name was Bhogilal Mohanlal Joitram (1895–1959) and his mother's name was Aniben Popatlal (1894–1995). He was born in a deeply religious family. His father took vow of lifelong celibacy in 1925 and was initiated as a Jain monk Muni Bhuvanvijaya in 1932. His mother took

initiation Initiation is a rite of passage marking entrance or acceptance into a group or society. It could also be a formal admission to adulthood in a community or one of its formal components. In an extended sense, it can also signify a transformation ...

as Sadhavi Manoharashriji in 1939 under her own sister Sadhavi Labhashriji. All of Jambuvijayaji's aunts were initiated as sadhavi's and there were a number of initiations in his mother's family.

Monkhood

Ratlam Ratlam, known historically as Ratnapuri (lit. ''gem city''), is a city in the northwestern part of the Malwa region in Madhya Pradesh states and territories of India, state of India. The city of Ratlam lies above sea level. It is the administ ...

in 1937, at the age of 14 he took initiation as a Jain monk under his father, Acarya Bhuvanvijaya, who became his teacher. Later on he studied under Acarya Punyavijaya and assisted him cataloguing various Jain manuscripts. After the death of Muni Punyavijaya, he became the chief editor of the Jain Agama series. Muni Jambuvijayji was a

polyglot Multilingualism is the use of more than one language, either by an individual speaker or by a group of speakers. It is believed that multilingual speakers outnumber monolingualism, monolingual speakers in the World population, world's pop ...

and knew 16 languages. Among them were

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

Pali Pali () is a Middle Indo-Aryan liturgical language native to the Indian subcontinent. It is widely studied because it is the language of the Buddhist ''Pāli Canon'' or ''Tipiṭaka'' as well as the sacred language of ''Theravāda'' Buddhism ...

, Apabhramsha,

Gujarati Gujarati may refer to: * something of, from, or related to Gujarat, a state of India * Gujarati people, the major ethnic group of Gujarat * Gujarati language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by them * Gujarati languages, the Western Indo-Aryan sub- ...

Hindi Hindi (Devanāgarī: or , ), or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi (Devanagari: ), is an Indo-Aryan language spoken chiefly in the Hindi Belt region encompassing parts of northern, central, eastern, and western India. Hindi has been de ...

Tibetan Tibetan may mean: * of, from, or related to Tibet * Tibetan people, an ethnic group * Tibetan language: ** Classical Tibetan, the classical language used also as a contemporary written standard ** Standard Tibetan, the most widely used spoken dial ...

and some others.

Revival of ancient scriptures

Prof. Dr. John Cort mentions the difficulties faced and the persistence shown by Muni Jambuvijay in ensuring that ancient manuscripts which were under lock and key were brought to light. Many bhandaras like the one at

Patan Patan may refer to several places in Afghanistan, India and Nepal: Afghanistan *Patan, Afghanistan India * Patan district, in the state of Gujarat * Patan, Gujarat, the main city of the eponymous district * Patan was the ancient capital of Gujara ...

were unopened for decades or centuries and Muni Jambuvijay had to often use his mendicant charisma to convince the trustee to open up the libraries.

Agama research and editing

List of Books critically edited by Muni Punyavijayji and successor Muni Jambuvijayji: * Viyah pannati suttam Part-1 * Viyah pannati suttam Part-2 * Viyah pannati suttam Part-3 *Nayadhamma kahao *Suyagdang sutra *Dasveyaliya suttam, Uttarjzhayanaim, Avassay suttam *

Sthananga Sutra Sthananga Sutra (Sanskrit: Sthānāṅgasūtra Prakrit: Ṭhāṇaṃgasutta) (c. 3rd-4th century CE) forms part of the first eleven Angas of the Jaina Canon which have survived despite the bad effects of this Hundavasarpini kala as per the Ś ...

Part-1 *

Part-2 *

Part-3 *Painnay Suttai Part-1 *Painnay Suttai Part-2 *Painnay Suttai Part-3 *Nandisutt And Anuogddaraim *Pannavana Suttam Part-1 *Pannavana Suttam Part-2 *Anuyogdwar sutra Part-1 *Anuyogdwar sutra Part-2 *Dwadsharam Naychakram Part-1 *Dwadsharam Naychakram Part-2 *Dwadsharam Naychakram Part-3 *Panch sutrakam with Tika *Aendra Stuti Chaturvinshika Sah Swo Vivran *Siddhahem sabdanushasana Sah swopagya (San) Laghuvrutti *Mahapacchakkhan Painniyam *Divsagar pannatti Painnayam *Tandulveyaliya Painnayam *

Samavayanga Sutra Samavayanga Sutra (c. 3rd-4th century BCE) is the 4th amongst the 12 Angas of the Jaina canon. The sutra is believed to have been composed by Gandhara Sudharmaswami. This ancient manuscript is the holy book of the Svetambara sect. This text c ...

*Stree Nirvan Kevalibhukti Prakarane *Surimantra Kalp Samucchaya * Thanangsuttam and Samvayangsuttam Part-3 *Ayarang suttam (

Acaranga Sutra The Acharanga Sutra (; First book c. 5th–4th century BCE; Second book c. 2nd–1st century BCE) is the first of the twelve Angas, part of the agamas (religious texts) which were compiled based on the teachings of 24th Jina Mahavira. The ex ...

) *Mahanisiha Suya Khandham *Nandisuttam *Dasakalia suttam * Sutrakrutang sutra Vol-1 *Hastalikhit Granthsuchi Part-1 *Hastalikhit Granthsuchi Part-2 *Hastalikhit Granthsuchi Part-3

Death

Jambuvijay died in a road accident on 12 November 2009 at the age of 87 years. Early morning, he was travelling by foot along with other monks from

Balotra Balotra is a city in Barmer district of Rajasthan state in India. It is about from Barmer city. Geography Balotra is located at . It has an average elevation of 106 metres (347 feet). Demographics India census, Balotra had a ...

Jaisalmer Jaisalmer , nicknamed "The Golden city", is a city in the Indian state of Rajasthan, located west of the state capital Jaipur. The town stands on a ridge of yellowish sandstone and is crowned by the ancient Jaisalmer Fort. This fort contains a ...

when they were hit by a truck. He along with Namaskarvijay died in the accident and others are seriously injured. They were cremated at Shankheshvar on Sami Road in

. The deaths of Jain ascetics in road accidents while travelling barefoot, resulted in widespread protests by Jains and they demanded for an investigation.

References

{{authority control Scholars of Jainism Indian Sanskrit scholars 1923 births 2009 deaths Indian Jain monks 20th-century Indian Jains 20th-century Jain monks 20th-century Indian monks Śvētāmbara monks