Muni Jinvijayji (27 January 1888 ― 3 June 1976) was a scholar of

orientalism In art history, literature and cultural studies, Orientalism is the imitation or depiction of aspects in the Eastern world. These depictions are usually done by writers, designers, and artists from the Western world. In particular, Orientalist p ...

archeology Archaeology or archeology is the scientific study of human activity through the recovery and analysis of material culture. The archaeological record consists of artifacts, architecture, biofacts or ecofacts, sites, and cultural landscap ...

indology Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the History of India, history and Culture of India, cultures, Languages of South Asia, languages, and Indian literature, literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a ...

and

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 ...

from India.

Biography

Jinvijay was born in Rupaheli, Mewad near

Udaipur Udaipur () (ISO 15919: ''Udayapura''), historically named as Udayapura, is a city and municipal corporation in Udaipur district of the state of Rajasthan, India. It is the administrative headquarter of Udaipur district. It is the historic capit ...

on 27 January 1888 to Vriddhisinh and Rajkumari. His birth name was Kishansinh Parmar. He lost his parents at early age and after his contact with Muni Devihans, he was interested in Jainism. He was initiated as Sthanakvasi Jain monk in 1903. He was later initiated in ''Samvegi'' order of Shvetambara Jain monk and was given new name, Muni Jinvijay. He learned

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 ...

and

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 ...

literature under Kantivijay, a Jain ascetic from

Patan, Gujarat Patan () is the administrative seat of Patan District in the Indian state of Gujarat and is an administered municipality. It was the capital of Gujarat's Chavda and Chaulukya dynasties in medieval times, and is also known as Anhilpur-Patan ...

. Being bored of conventional life of ascetic, he renounced monkhood and decided to live as a professor. He joined

Gujarat Vidyapith Gujarat Vidyapith is a deemed university in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded in 1920 by Mahatma Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement, and deemed a university in 1963. Etymology "Vidyapith," in many languages of ...

as a principal of archeology department for few years on invitation of

Mahatma Gandhi Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi (; ; 2 October 1869 – 30 January 1948), popularly known as Mahatma Gandhi, was an Indian lawyer, anti-colonial nationalist Quote: "... marks Gandhi as a hybrid cosmopolitan figure who transformed ... anti- ...

. He went to Germany in 1928 to study

Indology Indology, also known as South Asian studies, is the academic study of the History of India, history and Culture of India, cultures, Languages of South Asia, languages, and Indian literature, literature of the Indian subcontinent, and as such is a ...

. He returned to India in 1929. He participated in the

Salt March The Salt March, also known as the Salt Satyagraha, Dandi March and the Dandi Satyagraha, was an act of nonviolent civil disobedience in colonial India led by Mahatma Gandhi. The twenty-four day march lasted from 12 March to 6 April 1930 as a di ...

Indian independence movement The Indian independence movement was a series of historic events with the ultimate aim of ending British Raj, British rule in India. It lasted from 1857 to 1947. The first nationalistic revolutionary movement for Indian independence emerged ...

in 1930 and was imprisoned at

Nasik Jail Nashik (, Marathi: Help:IPA/Marathi, aːʃik, also called as Nasik ) is a city in the northern region of the Indian state of Maharashtra. Situated on the banks of river Godavari River, Godavari, Nashik is the third largest city in Maharas ...

where he met

K. M. Munshi Kanhaiyalal Maneklal Munshi (; 30 December 1887 – 8 February 1971), popularly known by his pen name Ghanshyam Vyas, was an Indian independence movement activist, politician, writer and educationist from Gujarat state. A lawyer by profession, ...

. He joined

Shantiniketan Santiniketan is a neighbourhood of Bolpur town in the Bolpur subdivision of Birbhum district in West Bengal, India, approximately 152 km north of Kolkata. It was established by Maharshi Devendranath Tagore, and later expanded by his son ...

as a professor of Jain literature and taught there from 1932 to 1936. He headed archeology department of

Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on 7 November 1938 by Dr K.M Munshi, with the support of Mahatma Gandhi. The trust programmes through its 119 centres in India, 7 centres abroad and 367 constituent instit ...

in 1939. He became honorary director of

Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute is an organisation established by Government of Rajasthan to promote Rajasthani culture and heritage and to accumulate and maintain the old Rajansthani folk art work and folk literature. It was established in ...

in 1950. He served as a head of history and archeology department of

Gujarati Sahitya Parishad Gujarati Sahitya Parishad () is a literary organisation for the promotion of Gujarati literature located in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, India. It was founded by Ranjitram Mehta with the aim of creating literature appealing to all classes of society an ...

. He retired in 1967. He died following lung cancer on 3 June 1976 at

Ahmedabad Ahmedabad ( ; Gujarati: Amdavad ) is the most populous city in the Indian state of Gujarat. It is the administrative headquarters of the Ahmedabad district and the seat of the Gujarat High Court. Ahmedabad's population of 5,570,585 (per t ...

Works

He had published more than 20 books and edited and translated several others.

Selected works

* ''A catalogue of Sanskrit and Prakrit manuscripts in the Rajasthan Oriental Research Institute : Jodhpur collection'' * '' Prabandhakośa'' (editor) * '' Prabandhacintāmaṇi'' (editor) * ''

Puratana Prabandha Sangraha The ''Puratana Prabandha Sangraha'' ("Collection of Old Prabandhas") is a collection of Sanskrit-language legendary biographies and anecdotes written by multiple Jain authors of India. It was edited by the Jain monk Jinvijay from several manuscript ...

'' (editor), 1936 * ''Kumārapāla caritrasaṃgraha'' * ''Karṇāmṛta-prapā'' * ''Hetubinduṭīkā'' * ''Auktikapada'' * ''Uktiyaka'' * ''

Sandesh Rasak Sandesh may refer to: *Sandesh (confectionery), a Bengali sweet prepared in Bangladesh and India * ''Sandesh'' (magazine), a children's magazine in West Bengal * ''Sandesh'' (Indian newspaper), a Gujarati newspaper * ''Sandesh'' (Pakistani newspap ...

'', 1945

Recognition

He was awarded the

Padma Shri Padma Shri (IAST: ''padma śrī''), also spelled Padma Shree, is the fourth-highest Indian honours system, civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna, the Padma Vibhushan and the Padma Bhushan. Instituted on 2 January 1954, ...

, the fourth highest civilian award in India, in 1961 for his contributions in field of literature and education.

References

External links

* * {{authority control Indian Jain monks 1888 births 1976 deaths Religion academics Indian Sanskrit scholars Indian Indologists 20th-century Indian archaeologists Gujarati-language writers Recipients of the Padma Shri in literature & education 20th-century Indian Jain writers 20th-century Jain monks 20th-century Indian monks 20th-century Indian scholars 20th-century Indian translators People from Udaipur Indian religious writers Scholars from Rajasthan