Sukhlal Sanghvi
Encyclopedia
Sukhlal Sanghvi also known as Pandit Sukhlalji was a Jain Scholar and Philosopher. He belonged to the Sthanakvasi
sect of Jainism
. Pandit Sukhlal lost his eyesight at the age of sixteen on account of small-pox. However, he overcame this handicap and became profoundly versed in Jain logic and rose to become a professor at Banaras Hindu University. Paul Dundas
calls him as one of the most incisive modern interpreters of Jain philosophy
. Paul Dundas notes that Sanghavi represents what now seems to be a virtually lost scholarly and intellectual world. He was a mentor for famous Jain scholar Padmanabh Jaini
. During his lifetime he won many awards like Sahitya Akademi Award and won recognition from the Government of India by getting Padma Bhushan
award. Sukhlalji was also known as Prajnacaksu because he was so vastly learned despite being visually challenged.
in 1911, and then to Kashi where he devoted himself to a study of philosophy and literature. Later, he went to Agra
where he edited important Jain works like Panchapratikramana, the first four Karma granthas of Devendrasuri. and Yogadarsana and Yogavimshika of Haribhadra
Suri. After passing Nyayacarya examination he continued to teach at Jain pathshalas where his students included furure scholar-monks like Muni Jinavijaya, Muni Lalitvijaya and Muni Punyavijaya.
as professor of Indian philosophy
. Here he edited Sanamatitarka of Siddhasena Divakara in five volumes containing valuable indices and appendices. He was assisted by Pandit Bechardasji in this task. From 1933 to 1944 he was a professor of Jain Philosophy at Benaras Hindu University. He devoted most of his time to writing and editing a number of valuable works in Sanskrit, Hindi, and Gujarati. He edited Tattvarthasutra and Nyayavatara in Gujarati with texts and translations. He edited Pramana-mimamsa by Hemacandra, with detailed introduction and notes. He not only corrected the original readings with the help of the photocopies of the original manuscripts but also gave other comparative readings. He critically edited Jayarashi's Tatavapaplava - a systematic work of Charvakas which brought him wide recognition. He threw new light on the history of Buddhist philosophy
by editing Archata’s commentary on Dharmakirti
's Hetubindu. After retirement from Bananas Hindu University in 1944, he came back to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
where he worked with Jain monk Acarya Jinavijayaji. In 1957, Sukhlalji was invited by the M.S. University of Baroda to deliver five lectures on Indian philosophy, which were published in Gujarati (1951), Hindi (1971) and English (1977). His scholarly lectures or Atma-Paramatma and Sadhana delivered at Gujarat Vidyasabha were also published in Hindi and Gujarati under the title of Adhyatma vicharana The University of Bombay also invited him for lectures on Acharya Haribhadra
, which were published both in Gujarati (1961) and in Hindi (1966).
, who was to become a close family friend. Sukhlalji was non-sectarian in his attitude and shared a good rapport with many Digambara
scholars like Premiji and observed their mutual respect:
Sukhlalji also mentored three scholars of Jainism – Dr Mahendrakumar Nyayacarya, Prof Dr Padmanabh Jaini and Dr Dalsukh Malvania. Out of these, the second and third were his direct students. Sukhlalji always insisted on learning of Pali Canon
for understanding Jainism and encouraged young Padmanabh Jaini to visit Sri Lanka
to study Buddhism
. Author B.K. Matilal notes that Sukhlalji advocated "a non-partisan historical comparative study of any Sanskrit philosophical text and noted in his preface to Advanced Studies in Indian Logic and Metaphysics (1961):
He was known for his vast learning, sound scholarship, remarkable memory and for being a very ethical and conscientious person. Pandit Sukhlalji worked with a vast array of scholars and was good friends with all of them, despite not always agreeing with them. Some of the luminaries he worked with include: Muni Jinavijaya, Muni Punyavijaya, Acarya Premi Suri, Pandit Nathuram Premi, Pandit Jugalkishore Mukhtar, Dr Hiralal Jain, Dr A N Upadhye, Dr. Mahendrakumar Nyayacarya, Prof. Dr. Padmanabh Jaini, Dr. Dalsukh Malvania and Dr. Nagin J. Shah.
President of India
, Dr. Radhakrishnan, himself a reputed philosopher and scholar paid glowing tributes to Sukhlalji by saying that his life was that of an ascetic performing Jnanayajna (Worship of Knowledge).
to Gujarati
and Hindi
. A partial list of his works is enumerated below:
}
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...
sect of 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...
. Pandit Sukhlal lost his eyesight at the age of sixteen on account of small-pox. However, he overcame this handicap and became profoundly versed in Jain logic and rose to become a professor at Banaras Hindu University. Paul Dundas
Paul Dundas
Paul Dundas is a scholar and a senior lecturer in Sanskrit language and head of Asian Studies in the University of Edinburgh. His main areas of academic and research interest include Jainism, Buddhism, classical Sanskrit literature and Middle Indo-Aryan philology...
calls him as one of the most incisive modern interpreters of Jain philosophy
Jain philosophy
Jain philosophy deals extensively with the problems of metaphysics, reality, cosmology, ontology, epistemology and divinity. Jainism is essentially a transtheistic religion of ancient India. It is a continuation of the ancient tradition which co-existed with the Vedic tradition since ancient...
. Paul Dundas notes that Sanghavi represents what now seems to be a virtually lost scholarly and intellectual world. He was a mentor for famous Jain scholar Padmanabh Jaini
Padmanabh Jaini
Prof. Dr. Padmanabh Shrivarma Jaini is a India born scholar of Jainism and Buddhism, currently living in Berkeley, USA. He was born in a Digambar family, however he is equally familiar with both the Digambara and Svetambara forms of Jainism...
. During his lifetime he won many awards like Sahitya Akademi Award and won recognition from the Government of India by getting Padma Bhushan
Padma Bhushan
The Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
award. Sukhlalji was also known as Prajnacaksu because he was so vastly learned despite being visually challenged.
Early life
Sukhlalji was born in the village of Limbdi, Saurashtra, Gujarat in 1880 (fifth day of the bright day of the month of Margshersh in V.S. 1937). Panditji was a Gujarati from Visa Shrimali Vanik community (merchant community). Sanghvi Talshi and his first wife Maniben were his parents. His mother expired when he was four years. He passed his childhood in Limbdi under the care of his distant relative Shri Mulji Kaka of Sayla in absence of his mother. At the age of sixteen he lost his eyesight due to an attack of small-pox. This made him more introspective and he devoted his life to learning.Learning
He attended discourses of Jain monks, and studied scriptures with the help of a reader. In 1904, he joined Shri Yashovijaya Jain Sanskrit Pathshala at Benaras. Within three years he committed to memory the whole of Siddha-Hema-vyakarana. Besides grammar, he studied Tarkasamraha, Muktavali, and Vyaptichakra with various commentaries. He also became well-conversant with epics like Raghuvamsha, Maghakavya , and Naishadhacharitam , besides Alamkarashastra and Kosha. For further studies he went to MithilaMithila
Mithila was a city in Ancient India, the capital of the Videha Kingdom. The name Mithila is also commonly used to refer to the Videha Kingdom itself, as well as to the modern-day territories that fall within the ancient boundaries of Videha...
in 1911, and then to Kashi where he devoted himself to a study of philosophy and literature. Later, he went to Agra
Agra
Agra a.k.a. Akbarabad is a city on the banks of the river Yamuna in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, west of state capital, Lucknow and south from national capital New Delhi. With a population of 1,686,976 , it is one of the most populous cities in Uttar Pradesh and the 19th most...
where he edited important Jain works like Panchapratikramana, the first four Karma granthas of Devendrasuri. and Yogadarsana and Yogavimshika of Haribhadra
Haribhadra
Haribhadra 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...
Suri. After passing Nyayacarya examination he continued to teach at Jain pathshalas where his students included furure scholar-monks like Muni Jinavijaya, Muni Lalitvijaya and Muni Punyavijaya.
Career as a scholar and a philosopher
In 1922 he joined Puratattva Mandir of Gujarat VidyapithGujarat Vidyapith
The Gujarat Vidyapith is a major university located in Ahmedabad, in the state of Gujarat in India. It was founded in 1920 by Mohandas Gandhi, the leader of the Indian independence movement...
as professor of Indian philosophy
Indian philosophy
India has a rich and diverse philosophical tradition dating back to ancient times. According to Radhakrishnan, the earlier Upanisads constitute "...the earliest philosophical compositions of the world."...
. Here he edited Sanamatitarka of Siddhasena Divakara in five volumes containing valuable indices and appendices. He was assisted by Pandit Bechardasji in this task. From 1933 to 1944 he was a professor of Jain Philosophy at Benaras Hindu University. He devoted most of his time to writing and editing a number of valuable works in Sanskrit, Hindi, and Gujarati. He edited Tattvarthasutra and Nyayavatara in Gujarati with texts and translations. He edited Pramana-mimamsa by Hemacandra, with detailed introduction and notes. He not only corrected the original readings with the help of the photocopies of the original manuscripts but also gave other comparative readings. He critically edited Jayarashi's Tatavapaplava - a systematic work of Charvakas which brought him wide recognition. He threw new light on the history of Buddhist philosophy
Buddhist philosophy
Buddhist philosophy deals extensively with problems in metaphysics, phenomenology, ethics, and epistemology.Some scholars assert that early Buddhist philosophy did not engage in ontological or metaphysical speculation, but was based instead on empirical evidence gained by the sense organs...
by editing Archata’s commentary on Dharmakirti
Dharmakirti
Dharmakīrti , was an Indian scholar and one of the Buddhist founders of Indian philosophical logic. He was one of the primary theorists of Buddhist atomism, according to which the only items considered to exist are momentary states of consciousness.-History:Born around the turn of the 7th century,...
's Hetubindu. After retirement from Bananas Hindu University in 1944, he came back to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan
Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan is an Indian educational trust. It was founded on November 7, 1938 by Dr. K. M. Munshi, with the blessings of Mahatma Gandhi...
where he worked with Jain monk Acarya Jinavijayaji. In 1957, Sukhlalji was invited by the M.S. University of Baroda to deliver five lectures on Indian philosophy, which were published in Gujarati (1951), Hindi (1971) and English (1977). His scholarly lectures or Atma-Paramatma and Sadhana delivered at Gujarat Vidyasabha were also published in Hindi and Gujarati under the title of Adhyatma vicharana The University of Bombay also invited him for lectures on Acharya Haribhadra
Haribhadra
Haribhadra 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...
, which were published both in Gujarati (1961) and in Hindi (1966).
Legacy and influences
Young Sukhlalji was inspired by the writings of Pandit Nathuram PremiNathuram Premi
Nathuram Premi was a writer, publisher, poet, editor, linguist and an intellectual giant in the field of Jainism as well as Hindi literature. A budding poet, he wrote under the nom de plume of "Premi". Although belonging to the Digambara sect of Jainism, he adopted a non-sectarian attitude and...
, who was to become a close family friend. Sukhlalji was non-sectarian in his attitude and shared a good rapport with many Digambara
Digambara
Digambara "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...
scholars like Premiji and observed their mutual respect:
- "He (Premiji) was considered to be a Pandit - a scholar of Jain tradition. To me it was a surprise! How could his writings be so impartial and audacious? I had come in contact with many Jain friends and scholars, but until then, excepting a few, I had not come across any scholar who was as non-sectarian or fearless as Premiji. So I had developed the perception that it was impossible to find a Jain scholar who was non-sectarian as well as fearless. Premiji's writings gradually made me realize that I had the wrong notion. This was the foremost reason for me to be attracted towards him.
- [...]
- We had an excellent understanding of traditions of one another but we had no sectarian complicities."
Sukhlalji also mentored three scholars of Jainism – Dr Mahendrakumar Nyayacarya, Prof Dr Padmanabh Jaini and Dr Dalsukh Malvania. Out of these, the second and third were his direct students. Sukhlalji always insisted on learning of Pali Canon
Pāli Canon
The Pāli Canon is the standard collection of scriptures in the Theravada Buddhist tradition, as preserved in the Pāli language. It is the only completely surviving early Buddhist canon, and one of the first to be written down...
for understanding Jainism and encouraged young Padmanabh Jaini to visit Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka is a country off the southern coast of the Indian subcontinent. Known until 1972 as Ceylon , Sri Lanka is an island surrounded by the Indian Ocean, the Gulf of Mannar and the Palk Strait, and lies in the vicinity of India and the...
to study 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...
. Author B.K. Matilal notes that Sukhlalji advocated "a non-partisan historical comparative study of any Sanskrit philosophical text and noted in his preface to Advanced Studies in Indian Logic and Metaphysics (1961):
- "I became firmly convinced that the study of any philosophical system inevitabely demands certain prerequisites and these prerequisites include a fairly accurate understanding of the historical inter-relationships between the various philosophical systems of India."
He was known for his vast learning, sound scholarship, remarkable memory and for being a very ethical and conscientious person. Pandit Sukhlalji worked with a vast array of scholars and was good friends with all of them, despite not always agreeing with them. Some of the luminaries he worked with include: Muni Jinavijaya, Muni Punyavijaya, Acarya Premi Suri, Pandit Nathuram Premi, Pandit Jugalkishore Mukhtar, Dr Hiralal Jain, Dr A N Upadhye, Dr. Mahendrakumar Nyayacarya, Prof. Dr. Padmanabh Jaini, Dr. Dalsukh Malvania and Dr. Nagin J. Shah.
Awards and Doctorates
- He was awarded Vijaj Dharm Soori Jain Sahitya Gold Medal in 1947.
- He was honored by the degree of D.Litt by the Gujarat University in 1957, the Sardar Patel University in 1967 and the Saurashtra University in 1973.
- His admirers had formed Pandit Shri Sukhlalji Samman Samiti in his honor and he was honored in 1957 at Bombay under the Presidentship of Dr. Radhakrishnan. He was given a bag of seventy thousand rupees on this occasion. Panditji formed Gnanodaya Trust with this amount and decided to use this amount for the expansion and creation of Indian religion and philosophy.
- The Sahitya AkademiSahitya AkademiThe Sahitya Akademi ', India's National Academy of Letters, is an organisation dedicated to the promotion of literature in the languages of India...
, India's National Academy of Letters, awarded him the Sahitya Akademi Award and prize of five thousand rupees for his Darshan ane Chintan, a compilation of philosophical essays in 1958. The Government of Bombay also gave him prize for this work. - The Government of India granted him pension in 1961 by giving him Certificate of honor for Sanskrit.
- The Government of IndiaGovernment of IndiaThe Government of India, officially known as the Union Government, and also known as the Central Government, was established by the Constitution of India, and is the governing authority of the union of 28 states and seven union territories, collectively called the Republic of India...
honored him by awarding Padma BhushanPadma BhushanThe Padma Bhushan is the third highest civilian award in the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan, but comes before the Padma Shri. It is awarded by the Government of India.-History:...
in 1974. - He was awarded the title of Vidya Varidhi by Nav Nalanda Vihar of Bihar in 1975.
President of India
President of India
The President of India is the head of state and first citizen of India, as well as the Supreme Commander of the Indian Armed Forces. President of India is also the formal head of all the three branches of Indian Democracy - Legislature, Executive and Judiciary...
, Dr. Radhakrishnan, himself a reputed philosopher and scholar paid glowing tributes to Sukhlalji by saying that his life was that of an ascetic performing Jnanayajna (Worship of Knowledge).
Works
Sukhlalji was a prolific writer. He edited and translated many texts from SanskritSanskrit
Sanskrit , is a historical Indo-Aryan language and the primary liturgical language of Hinduism, Jainism and Buddhism.Buddhism: besides Pali, see Buddhist Hybrid Sanskrit Today, it is listed as one of the 22 scheduled languages of India and is an official language of the state of Uttarakhand...
to Gujarati
Gujarati language
Gujarati is an Indo-Aryan language, and part of the greater Indo-European language family. It is derived from a language called Old Gujarati which is the ancestor language of the modern Gujarati and Rajasthani languages...
and Hindi
Hindi
Standard Hindi, or more precisely Modern Standard Hindi, also known as Manak Hindi , High Hindi, Nagari Hindi, and Literary Hindi, is a standardized and sanskritized register of the Hindustani language derived from the Khariboli dialect of Delhi...
. A partial list of his works is enumerated below:
- Translation of Umasvati’s Tattvarthasutra in Gujarati and Hindi.
}
- Translation and editing of Sanmatitarka of Siddhasena Divākara.
- Translation and editing of of Siddhasena Divākara.
- DIVĀKARA, S., & SANGHVI, S. (1945). Siddhasena Divākara . Mumbai, Bhāratīya Vidyā Bhavana.
- Translation and editing of of Siddhasena Divākara (On Jain Logic, Sanskrit text and Gujarati explanation)
- Siddhasena Divākara, and Sukhalāla Sanghvī. 1995. Nyāyāvatāra sūtra. Śrī Śvetāmbara Mūrtipūjaka Boarding granthamālā, 7. Ahmedabad: Śāradābena Cīmanabhāī Educational Research Series.
- Pacifism and Jainism. Publisher: Jain Cultural Research Society, Banaras Hindu UniversityBanaras Hindu UniversityBanaras Hindu University is a public university located in Varanasi, India and is one of the Central Universities of India. It is the largest residential university in Asia, with over 24,000 students in its campus. BHU was founded in 1916 by Pandit Madan Mohan Malviya under the Parliamentary...
, 1950. - Samaj Dharma ane Sanskruti (સમાજ, ધર્મ અને સંસ્કૃતિ) Publisher: Gurjar Granthratna Karyalaya – Ahmedabad
- Anekant Chintan (અનેકાંત ચિંતન) Publisher: Gurjar Granthratna Karyalaya – Ahmedabad
- Karmaranth of Devendrasuri (4 Parts–Karmvipak Karmstav Bandhswamitva and Shadshitik) – Translation in Hindi from Sanskrit. Publisher: Parshvanath Vidhyashram - Varanasi