Sudharmaswami (Sanskrit: Sudharmāsvāmī or Sudharman; 607 BC – 507 BC) was the fifth ganadhara of Mahavira. All the current Jain acharyas and monks follow his rule.
| Sudharmaswami | |
|---|---|
 Statue of Sudharmaswami in Rujuwalika Jain Temple in Jharkhand | |
| Venerated in | Jainism |
| Genealogy | |
| Avatar birth | 607 BC |
| Avatar end | 507 BC |
| Parents |
|
Life
editSudharmaswami was the spiritual successor of Indrabhuti Gautama in religious order reorganised by Mahavira.[1] He is traditionally dated from 607 to 507 BC.[2] In the Jain tradition he is believed to have obtained omniscience after 12 years in 515 BC.[1] He is believed to have attained nirvana in 507 BC at the age of 100.[1][3] The leadership of religious order was then transferred to Jambuswami who served for 44 years and was the last Ganadhara who survived after the death of Mahavira.[1]
For Jains, their scriptures represent the literal words of Mahavira and the other tirthankaras only to the extent that the agama texts are a series of fixed truths without a beginning or an end, and a tradition without any origin, human or divine, which in this world age has been channelled through Sudharmasvāmī.[4]
See also
editReferences
editCitations
edit- ^ a b c d Natubhai Shah 2004, p. 39.
- ^ Natubhai Shah 2004, p. 41.
- ^ George 2008, p. 319.
- ^ Dundas 2002, p. 61.
Sources
edit- Dundas, Paul (2002) [1992], The Jains (Second ed.), Routledge, ISBN 0-415-26605-X
- George, Vensus A. (2008), Paths to the Divine: Ancient and Indian, vol. XII, The Council for Research in Values and Philosophy, ISBN 978-1-56518-248-6
- Shah, Natubhai (2004) [First published in 1998], Jainism: The World of Conquerors, vol. I, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-81-208-1938-2