Acharya
Encyclopedia
In Indian religions and society, an acharya (IAST
: ; ; Pali
: acariya) is a guide or instructor in religious matters; founder, or leader of a sect; or a highly learned man or a title affixed to the names of learned men. The designation has different meanings in Hinduism
, Buddhism
, Jainism
and secular contexts.
Acharya is also used to address a teacher or a scholar in any discipline, e.g.: Bhaskaracharya, the mathematician. It is also a common suffix in brahmin/viswakarma names, e.g.: Krishnamacharya, Bhattacharya. In South India, this suffix is sometimes shortened to Achar
, e.g.: TKV Desikachar.
Acharya is also used as surname. In the social order of some parts of India, acharyas are considered as the highest amongst the brahmin
community/viswakarma community often described as the "shrestha brahman" i.e. best in brahmins. In Madhwa brahmins Acharya means a priestly person.
, an acharya (आचार्य) is a mahāpuruśa (महापुरुश, divine personality) who is believed to have descended as an avatāra (अवतार, incarnation) to teach and establish bhakti
in the world and write on the siddhānta
(सिद्धांत, doctrine) of devotion to Bhagwan (भगवान्, lord, God, blessed one, see also iśvara
).
Examples of acharyas in the Hindu tradition are:
, an Acharya is a monk who is one of the Pañca-Parameṣṭhi and thus worthy of worship. An Acharya is the highest leader of a Jain order. He is the final authority in his monastic order and has the authority to ordain new monks and nuns. He is also authorized to consecrate new idols, although this authority is sometimes delegated to scholars designated by him.
Some famous Jain Acharyas in approximate chronological order, are:
Modern Jain Acharyas include Digambara Acharya Vidyasagar
and Vidyanand and Svetambara Padma Sagar Suri, Subodhsagar Suri, Yashodev Suri
, and Jayantsain Suri. In the Svetambar Terapanthi sub-sect are Acharya Bhikshu
, Acharya Tulsi
and Acharya Mahapragya and in the Sthanakvasi
sub-sect Sushil Kumar
have been the leading Acharyas.
An Acharya, like any other Jain monk, is expected to wander except for the Chaturmas
. Bhattaraka
s, who head institutions, are technically junior monks, and thus permitted to stay in the same place.
. The Tibetan term loppön is used to translate acharya. The Japanese Shingon sects employ the acharya title with its qualified priests who have completed training at Mount Koya
.
IAST
The International Alphabet of Sanskrit Transliteration is a transliteration scheme that allows a lossless romanization of Indic scripts as employed by the Sanskrit language.-Popularity:...
: ; ; Pali
Páli
- External links :* *...
: acariya) is a guide or instructor in religious matters; founder, or leader of a sect; or a highly learned man or a title affixed to the names of learned men. The designation has different meanings in Hinduism
Hinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, Buddhism
Buddhism
Buddhism is a religion and philosophy encompassing a variety of traditions, beliefs and practices, largely based on teachings attributed to Siddhartha Gautama, commonly known as the Buddha . The Buddha lived and taught in the northeastern Indian subcontinent some time between the 6th and 4th...
, Jainism
Jainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
and secular contexts.
Acharya is also used to address a teacher or a scholar in any discipline, e.g.: Bhaskaracharya, the mathematician. It is also a common suffix in brahmin/viswakarma names, e.g.: Krishnamacharya, Bhattacharya. In South India, this suffix is sometimes shortened to Achar
Achar
Achar may refer to:* Achar, a word used in many Indo-Aryan languages for Indian pickle* Achar people, an ethnographic group of Georgians* Achar or Achan, a figure mentioned in the Book of Joshua...
, e.g.: TKV Desikachar.
Acharya is also used as surname. In the social order of some parts of India, acharyas are considered as the highest amongst the brahmin
Brahmin
Brahmin Brahman, Brahma and Brahmin.Brahman, Brahmin and Brahma have different meanings. Brahman refers to the Supreme Self...
community/viswakarma community often described as the "shrestha brahman" i.e. best in brahmins. In Madhwa brahmins Acharya means a priestly person.
Etymology
The term "Acharya" is most often said to include the root "char" or "charya" (conduct). Thus it literally connotes "one who teaches by conduct (example)," i.e. an exemplar.In Hinduism
In HinduismHinduism
Hinduism is the predominant and indigenous religious tradition of the Indian Subcontinent. Hinduism is known to its followers as , amongst many other expressions...
, an acharya (आचार्य) is a mahāpuruśa (महापुरुश, divine personality) who is believed to have descended as an avatāra (अवतार, incarnation) to teach and establish bhakti
Bhakti
In Hinduism Bhakti is religious devotion in the form of active involvement of a devotee in worship of the divine.Within monotheistic Hinduism, it is the love felt by the worshipper towards the personal God, a concept expressed in Hindu theology as Svayam Bhagavan.Bhakti can be used of either...
in the world and write on the siddhānta
Siddhanta
Siddhanta, a Sanskrit term, roughly translates as the Doctrine or the Tradition. It denotes the established and accepted view of a particular school within Indian philosophy.-Hindu philosophy:...
(सिद्धांत, doctrine) of devotion to Bhagwan (भगवान्, lord, God, blessed one, see also iśvara
Ishvara
Ishvara is a philosophical concept in Hinduism, meaning controller or the Supreme controller in a theistic school of thought or the Supreme Being, or as an Ishta-deva of monistic thought.-Etymology:...
).
Examples of acharyas in the Hindu tradition are:
- Adi Sankaracharya
- RamanujaRamanujaRamanuja ; traditionally 1017–1137, also known as Ramanujacharya, Ethirajar , Emperumannar, Lakshmana Muni, was a theologian, philosopher, and scriptural exegete...
charya - MadhvacharyaMadhvacharyaMadhvācārya was the chief proponent of Tattvavāda "Philosophy of Reality", popularly known as the Dvaita school of Hindu philosophy. It is one of the three most influential Vedānta philosophies. Madhvācārya was one of the important philosophers during the Bhakti movement. He was a pioneer in...
- NimbarkaNimbarkaNimbarka , is known for propagating the Vaishnava Theology of Dvaitadvaita, duality in unity. According to scholars headed by Prof. Roma Bose, he lived in the 13th Century, on the assumption that Śrī Nimbārkācārya was the author of the work Madhvamukhamardana...
charya - Vallabhacharya
- Caitanya Mahaprabhu
- Abhay Charanaravinda Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada
- Acharya Shree Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj – (Swaminarayan SampradaySwaminarayan SampradaySwaminarayan Sampraday , known previously as the Uddhav Sampraday, is a Hindu sect established by Swaminarayan...
– NarNarayan Dev GadiNarNarayan Dev GadiThe Naranarāyan Dēv Gadī , named after NarNarayan Dev, is one of the two Gadis that together form the Swaminarayan Sampraday. It is headquartered at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Ahmedabad and controls the Uttar Vibhag....
) - Acharya Shree Rakeshprasadji MaharajAcharya Shree Rakeshprasadji MaharajSanatan Dharma Dhurandar Acharya Maharaj Shree 1008 Rakeshprasadji Maharaj is the current Acharya of the LaxmiNarayan Dev Gadi of Swaminarayan Sampraday and the 9th Spiritual Successor of Bhagwan Swaminarayan in the South Diocese of the Swaminarayan...
(Swaminarayan Sampradaya – LaxmiNarayan Dev GadiLaxmiNarayan Dev GadiThe Laxminarayan Dev Gadi is one of the two Gadis that together form the Swaminarayan Sampraday. It is headquartered at the Shri Swaminarayan Mandir, Vadtal and controls the Dakshin Vibhag....
)
In Jainism
In JainismJainism
Jainism is an Indian religion that prescribes a path of non-violence towards all living beings. Its philosophy and practice emphasize the necessity of self-effort to move the soul towards divine consciousness and liberation. Any soul that has conquered its own inner enemies and achieved the state...
, an Acharya is a monk who is one of the Pañca-Parameṣṭhi and thus worthy of worship. An Acharya is the highest leader of a Jain order. He is the final authority in his monastic order and has the authority to ordain new monks and nuns. He is also authorized to consecrate new idols, although this authority is sometimes delegated to scholars designated by him.
Some famous Jain Acharyas in approximate chronological order, are:
- Sudharma Swami
- Acharya BhadrabahuAcharya BhadrabahuAcharya Bhadrabahu was a Jain monk. He is more famously known as a spiritual teacher of Chandragupta Maurya and author of several texts related to Jainism, including some of the most important works, Upsargahara Stotra and Kalpasutra....
(undivided Jain communityJain communityThe Jains in India have been the last direct representatives of the Shramana tradition in India. They follow Jainism, as the dharma taught by the 24 Tirthankaras, the last of whom was Mahavira.-Cultural influence:...
, Chandragupta MauryaChandragupta MauryaChandragupta Maurya , was the founder of the Maurya Empire. Chandragupta succeeded in conquering most of the Indian subcontinent. Chandragupta is considered the first unifier of India and its first genuine emperor...
was his disciple) (325 BCE) - SthulabhadraSthulabhadraSthulabhadra was a disciple of Acharya Bhadrabahu. The Swetambar tradition of Jainism trace their lineage through Sthulabhadra.He was a son of the Nanda's minister Sakadala. He became a disciple of Sambhutavijaya. Later he became a disciple of Bhadrabahu to learn the Purvas...
(Svetambar traditionSvetambaraThe Śvētāmbara is one of the two main sects of Jainism, the other being the Digambar. Śvētāmbara "white-clad" is a term describing its ascetics' practice of wearing white clothes, which sets it apart from the Digambara "sky-clad" Jainas, whose ascetic practitioners go naked...
) - KundakundaKundakundaKundakunda is a celebrated Jain Acharya, Jain scholar monk, 2nd century CE, composer of spiritual classics such as: Samayasara, Niyamasara, Pancastikayasara, Pravacanasara, Atthapahuda and Barasanuvekkha. He occupies the highest place in the tradition of the Jain acharyas.He belonged to the Mula...
, (Digambar tradition) (2nd century CE) - Jaysen Acharya, (Digambar tradition) - wrote tika on Samaysaar - i.e. commentary on Samaysaar Shastra
- Amrutchandra Acharya, (Digambar tradition) - wrote Atmakhyati take on Samaysaar - i.e. commentary called Atmakhyati on Samaysaar Shastra.
- SamantabhadraSamantabhadraSamantabhadra , is a bodhisattva in Mahayana Buddhism associated with Buddhist practice and meditation. Together with Shakyamuni Buddha and fellow bodhisattva Manjusri he forms the Shakyamuni trinity in Buddhism...
, (Digambar tradition) (3rd–4th century CE) - Siddhasena Divakara, (claimed by both) (5th century CE)
- HaribhadraHaribhadraHaribhadra Suri was a Svetambara mendicant Jain leader and author.-History:There are multiple contradictory dates assigned to his birth. These include 459, 478, and 529. However, given his familiarity with Dharmakirti, a more likely choice would be sometime after 650...
,(Svetambar traditionSvetambaraThe Śvētāmbara is one of the two main sects of Jainism, the other being the Digambar. Śvētāmbara "white-clad" is a term describing its ascetics' practice of wearing white clothes, which sets it apart from the Digambara "sky-clad" Jainas, whose ascetic practitioners go naked...
), (700–750 CE) - VirasenaVirasenaĀchārya Virasena was an 8th century Indian mathematician and Jain philosopher and scholar. He was a student of the Jain sage Elāchārya. He is also known to be a famous orator and an accomplished poet. His most reputed work is the Jain treatise Dhavala. Late Dr. Hiralal Jain places the completion of...
, (Digambar tradition), (790–825 CE) - JinasenaJinasenaJinasena is the name of several famous Jain Acharyas of the Digambar tradition.* The author of Harivamsha Purana in the 8th century. He belonged to the Punnata branch of Jain monks....
, (Digambar tradition), preceptor of RashtrakutaRashtrakutaThe Rashtrakuta Empire was a royal dynasty ruling large parts of the Indian Subcontinent between the sixth and the 10th centuries. During this period they ruled as several closely related, but individual clans. Rastrakutas in inscriptions represented as descendants of Satyaki, a Yadava well known...
rulers, (800–880 CE). - NemichandraNemichandraNemichandra Siddhanta Chakravarty , was the celebrated author of Dravyasamgraha, Gomattasara , Triloksara, Labdhisara and Kshapanasara. He was among the most distinguished of the Jain Acharyas....
, (Digambar tradition) - Acharya HemachandraAcharya HemachandraAcharya Hemachandra was a Jain scholar, poet, and polymath who wrote on grammar, philosophy, prosody, and contemporary history. Noted as a prodigy by his contemporaries, he gained the title Kalikāl Sarvagya "all-knowing of the Kali Yuga"....
,(Svetambar traditionSvetambaraThe Śvētāmbara is one of the two main sects of Jainism, the other being the Digambar. Śvētāmbara "white-clad" is a term describing its ascetics' practice of wearing white clothes, which sets it apart from the Digambara "sky-clad" Jainas, whose ascetic practitioners go naked...
), preceptor of Kumarapala, (1089–1172 CE) - Jagad guru HiravijayaHiravijayaHiravijaya was the supreme pontiff of Tapa Gachcha order of Jain Svetambara tradition. He is famous for propounding the Jain philosophy to Emperor Akbar and turning him towards vegetarianism.-Early life and monkhood:Hiravijaya was born in a Jain Oswal family in Palanpur in Gujarat in 1527...
, (Svetambar traditionSvetambaraThe Śvētāmbara is one of the two main sects of Jainism, the other being the Digambar. Śvētāmbara "white-clad" is a term describing its ascetics' practice of wearing white clothes, which sets it apart from the Digambara "sky-clad" Jainas, whose ascetic practitioners go naked...
), who was invited by Akbar, the Mughal emperor - RajendrasuriAcharya RajendrasuriAcharya Rajendrasuri was the major Svetambara Jain reformer of the 18th and 19th centuries. He was born on 3 December 1826 at Bharatpur, Rajasthan. In 1880, as the leader of the Tapa Gaccha, he led a movement to restore the orders of wandering monks, leading to near extinction of the Yati...
(Svetambar traditionSvetambaraThe Śvētāmbara is one of the two main sects of Jainism, the other being the Digambar. Śvētāmbara "white-clad" is a term describing its ascetics' practice of wearing white clothes, which sets it apart from the Digambara "sky-clad" Jainas, whose ascetic practitioners go naked...
) (1827–1906) - ShantisagarShantisagarAcharya Shri Shantisagar Maharaj, Charitra Chakravarti was the first Digambar Jain Acharya of the 20th century, and the first Digambar Jain monk to wander in North India after several centuries....
, (Digambar traditionDigambaraDigambara "sky-clad" is one of the two main sects of Jainism. "Sky-clad" has many different meaning and associations throughout Indian religions. Many representations of deities within these traditions are depicted as sky-clad, e.g. Samantabhadra/Samantabhadrī in Yab-Yum...
) (1872–1955) - Aryanandi, (Digambar traditionDigambaraDigambara "sky-clad" is one of the two main sects of Jainism. "Sky-clad" has many different meaning and associations throughout Indian religions. Many representations of deities within these traditions are depicted as sky-clad, e.g. Samantabhadra/Samantabhadrī in Yab-Yum...
) (20th Century)
Modern Jain Acharyas include Digambara Acharya Vidyasagar
Acharya Vidyasagar
Acharya Vidyasagarji is the best known of the modern Digambar Jain Acharyas of the modern times, known both for his scholarship and tapasya.- Biography :...
and Vidyanand and Svetambara Padma Sagar Suri, Subodhsagar Suri, Yashodev Suri
Yashodev Suri
Yashodev Suri was one of the greatest Acharyas of the Tapa Gaccha in the Svetambara sect of Jainism.He was a prominent Jain scholar.Yashodev Suri was born on 7th Jan. 1916 at Dabhoi...
, and Jayantsain Suri. In the Svetambar Terapanthi sub-sect are Acharya Bhikshu
Acharya Bhikshu
Acharya Bhikshu was one of the great revolutionary saints and reformer of Jainism. He was the founder and first spiritual head of the Svetambar Terapanth sect of Jainism....
, Acharya Tulsi
Acharya Tulsi
Acharya Tulsi was a Jainist Acharya . He was the founder of the Anuvrata and the Jain Vishva Bharti Institute, Ladnun and the author of over one-hundred books. Dr. Radhakrishnan in his "Living with Purpose" included him in the world's 15 great persons. He was given the title "Yuga-Pradhan" in a...
and Acharya Mahapragya and in the Sthanakvasi
Sthanakvasi
Sthānakavāsī is a sect of Jainism founded by a merchant named Lavaji about 1653 CE that believes that God is nirakar "without form", and hence do not pray to any statue...
sub-sect Sushil Kumar
Sushil Kumar
Sushil Kumar may refer to:*Sushil Kumar , Indian wrestler*Sushil Kumar , former Indian Chief of Naval Staff...
have been the leading Acharyas.
An Acharya, like any other Jain monk, is expected to wander except for the Chaturmas
Chaturmas
Chaturmas is a holy period of four months , beginning on Shayani Ekadashi—the eleventh day of the first bright half, Shukla paksha, of Ashadh —until Prabodhini Ekadashi, the eleventh day of the first bright half of Kartik in Hinduism, Buddhism and Jainism.Chaturmas is reserved the...
. Bhattaraka
Bhattaraka
A Bhaṭṭāraka is the head of traditional Jain institutions. They are responsible for training of scholars, maintenance of libraries, managing the endowments, presiding over the installation ceremonies and running of Jain institutions....
s, who head institutions, are technically junior monks, and thus permitted to stay in the same place.
In Buddhism
In Buddhism, the Pali variant acariya, lit. "teacher", is one of the two teachers of a novice monk, the other being the upādhyāya. In Mahayana traditions the epithet acharya was more widely used as an honorific indicating great scholastic renown; it was somewhat more general than the similar epithet paṇḍitaPandita (Buddhism)
Paṇḍita was a title in Indian Buddhism awarded to scholars who have mastered the five sciences Paṇḍita (Sanskrit; Tibetan: khepa; Wyl: mkhas pa) was a title in Indian Buddhism awarded to scholars who have mastered the five sciences Paṇḍita (Sanskrit; Tibetan: khepa; Wyl: mkhas pa) was a title in...
. The Tibetan term loppön is used to translate acharya. The Japanese Shingon sects employ the acharya title with its qualified priests who have completed training at Mount Koya
Mount Koya
is the name of mountains in Wakayama Prefecture to the south of Osaka. Also, Kōya-san is a modifying word for Kongōbuji . There is no one mountain officially called Kōya-san in Japan....
.
In scientific/ mathematical scholarship
- Bhaskaracharya
- Mahaviracharya
- Bhaskaracharya I