Chandrashekhar Vijay

Panyas Chandrashekhar Vijayji Maharaj Saheb (18 January 1934 – 8 August 2011), also known as Gurudev or Guruma, was a Jain monk, scholar and author. Born and educated in Mumbai, he was initiated as a monk who later designated Panyas. He was involved in religious as well as sociopolitical activities. He founded several institutions and authored 261 books.

Panyas Chandrashekhar Vijay ji Maharaj Saheb
Personal
Born	Indravadan 18 January 1934 Mumbai, Maharashtra
Died	8 August 2011 (aged 77) Ahmedabad, Gujarat
Cremation place	Tapovan Sanskarpith, Amiyapur, Gandhinagar
Religion	Jainism
Parents	Kantilal Jivatlal Pratapshi (father) Subhadraben (mother)
Sect	Svetambara Tapa Gaccha
Notable work(s)	261 books
Education	matriculation
Religious career
Disciples 87
Initiation as Panyas	15 May 1952 Byculla, Mumbai by Prem Suri
Website	www.yugpradhan.com

Biography

He was born on 18 January 1934 (Vikram Samvat 1990, Falgun Sud 5) in Bombay to Subhadraben and Kantilal Jivatlal Pratapshi. His family belonged to Radhanpur in present-day Banaskantha district. His birth name was Indravadan. He studied till matriculation. He was initiated as a Jain monk by Prem Suri on 15 May 1952 (Vikram Samvat 2008, Vaisakh Vad 6) at Motisha Jain auditorium, Byculla, Mumbai and was given new name, Chandrashekhar Vijay. Later he was elevated to designation of Panyas on 2 December 1984 (Vikram Samvat 2041, Magshar Sud 10) at Navsari, Gujarat.[1][2][3]

He led a nationwide campaign in 2002–2003 against the plan of opening 56,000 new abattoirs by the Government of India.[4] He initiated 87 disciples as Jain monks. He authored more than 261 books on various subject including religion, culture, nationalism, history, education, criticism and short stories. He established several religious and socio-cultural organizations such as Akhil Bharatiya Sanskruti Rakshak Dal and Vardhaman Sanskardham. He founded two schools which professes Indian cultural education, Tapovan Sanskardham at Navsari and Tapovan Sanskarpith near Ahmedabad. He was also considered as one of the best orators among Jain monks.[1][2]

He died on 8 August 2011 (Vikram Samvat 2067, Shravan Sud 10) at Ambavadi, Ahmedabad. He was cremated at Tapovan Sanskarpith, Amiyapur, Gandhinagar where his memorial temple was constructed later.[1][2][5][6][7]

Works

He has written 261 books. Sadhnani Pagdandie was his first book. To Bharatno Uday Chapatima was his last. He inspired to start Muktidoot, Virtidoot and Tapal Dwara Tatvagyan magazines. Nyaay Sidhaant Muktavali, Avacchedkatva Niryukti and Samanya Niryukti are his books on Nyaya philosophy. One of his top book is Joje; Amrutkumbh Dholay Na Whose 45,000 copies were out in 11 editions (as of Vikram Samvat 2066, around 2010 CE) and has been read more than 14000 times online(as of CE July 2020).[8][9] It has also been translated in english here.

References

1. "50,000 attend Jain munis antim darshan". Ahmedabad Mirror. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
2. "Thousands take part in Jain saint's last journey". The Times of India. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
3. http://www.yugpradhan.com/en/about-chandrashekhar-vijayji
4. Outlook. 30–38. 42. Hathway Investments Pvt Ltd. 2002. p. 35.
5. "ગુરુવર્ય ચંદ્રશેખરવિજયજી મ.સા.ની પાલખી યાત્રામાં ભક્ત સમુદાય છલકાયો" (in Gujarati). Mumbai Samachar. 10 August 2011. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
6. "પંન્યાસપ્રવર ચંદ્રશેખરવિજયજી મ.સા.ના લાખો લોકોએ દર્શન કર્યા (Final ritual of Chandrashekhar Vijayji)" (in Gujarati). Divya Bhaskar. 10 August 2011. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
7. "જીવદયાના આદર્શોને જીવનભર આત્મસાત્ કર્યા". m.divyabhaskar.co.in (in Gujarati). 9 August 2011. Archived from the original on 9 January 2015. Retrieved 8 January 2015.
8. http://www.yugpradhan.com/en
9. http://www.yugpradhan.com/en/book/joje-amrutkumbh-dholay-na (page 3 of the book