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{{Short description|Guide or instructor in religious matters in Dharmic religion}}
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In [[Indian religions]] and society, an '''''acharya''''' ([[Sanskrit]]: आचार्य, [[IAST]]: {{IAST|''ācārya''}}; [[Pali]]: ''ācariya'') is a religious teacher in Hinduism and Buddhism and a spiritual guide to Hindus and Buddhists.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.oed.com/search/dictionary/?scope=Entries&q=Acharya|title=Acharya - Quick search results | Oxford English Dictionary}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last=Platts|first=John T.|title=A dictionary of Urdu, classical Hindi, and English|publisher=W. H. Allen & Co.|location=London|year=1884|url=https://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:1246.platts|archive-url=https://archive.today/20120707142932/http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/philologic/getobject.pl?c.0:1:1246.platts|url-status=dead|archive-date=7 July 2012}}</ref> The designation has different meanings in [[Hinduism]], [[Buddhism]] and secular contexts.

''Acharya'' is sometimes used to address an expert teacher or a scholar in any discipline, e.g.: [[Bhaskaracharya]], the expert mathematician.

==Etymology==
The Sanskrit phrase ''ācāraṁ grahāyati ācāraṁ dadāti iti vā'' means ''Acharya'' (or teacher) is the one who teaches good conduct to one's students.<ref name="Singh2018">{{cite book|author=Vinod Singh|title=Higher Education for Sustainable Development and Millennium Development Goals|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=wEdxDwAAQBAJ&pg=PT282|date=1 October 2018|publisher=CCLP Worldwide|isbn=978-93-5321-685-6|pages=282–|quote=The role of Guru or Acharya was also very significant in this traditional education system. The word 'Acharya' can be derived as 'Acharam Grahayati Acharam Dadati Iti Va'. It means- Acharya or teacher is that who teaches good behavior to his pupils}}</ref><ref name="SharmaSharma1996">{{cite book|author1=Ram Nath Sharma|author2=Rajendra Kumar Sharma|title=History of Education in India|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=yqtAAgS3NSEC&pg=PA35|year=1996|publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Dist|isbn=978-81-7156-599-3|pages=35–}}</ref> A female teacher is called an ''achāryā,'' and a male teacher's wife is called an ''achāryāni'' <ref name="Chatterjee1998">{{cite book|author=Suhas Chatterjee|title=Indian Civilization and Culture|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=KItocaxbibUC&pg=PA273|year=1998|publisher=M.D. Publications Pvt. Ltd.|isbn=978-81-7533-083-2|pages=273–}}</ref>

==In Hinduism==

The term ''<nowiki/>'Acharya''<nowiki/>' has numerous definitions. [[Hinduism]] frequently uses the terms "''acharya''" and "''[[guru]]''" interchangeably. According to the [[Dharmaśāstra|Dharma Shastras]], ''acharya'' is the one who imparts knowledge of the entire [[Vedas|Veda]] to a student and performs [[upanayana]] sanskar.<ref name="SharmaSharma1996" />

According to ''[[Nirukta]]'', an ancillary discipline associated with the Vedas, an acharya is an individual who imparts knowledge to a student, collects wealth from the student, and helps pupils understand behaviour based on moral norms.<ref name="SharmaSharma1996" />

According to ''[[Manusmriti]]'', the individual who, having initiated a pupil, teaches him the Veda along with the ritualistic and esoteric treatises—him they call, ‘Ācārya,’ ‘Preceptor’—(140).<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |last=www.wisdomlib.org |date=2016-09-04 |title=Manusmriti Verse 2.140 [Meaning of the Title 'Ācārya'] |url=https://www.wisdomlib.org/hinduism/book/manusmriti-with-the-commentary-of-medhatithi/d/doc199609.html#:~:text=%E2%80%94'He%20who%20having%20initiated%20the,' |access-date=2024-05-09 |website=www.wisdomlib.org |language=en}}</ref>

'''Other authors' definitions:'''<ref name=":0" />

* ''[[Gautama Dharmasutra|Gautama-Dharmasūtra]]'', 1.10-11. — ‘The Upanayana is the second birth. He from whom this is received is the Ācārya.’
* ''[[Apastamba Dharmasutra|Āpastamba-Dharmasūtra]]'', 1.2.24-27.—‘He from whom one gathers (learns, ācinoti) his duties is the Ācārya; he brings about the essence of knowledge; this constitutes the highest birth.’
* ''Vaśiṣṭha-smṛti'', 3. 24.—‘He who, having initiated him, teaches him the entire Veda is the Ācārya.’
* ''[[Vishnu Smriti|Viṣṇu-smṛti]]'', 29.1.—‘He who, having initiated the pupil and taught him the observances, teaches him the Veda, should be known as the Ācārya.’
* ''[[Yājñavalkya Smṛti|Yājñavalkya-smṛti]]'', 1.34.—‘He who, after initiating, teaches the Veda is called the Ācārya.’

=== Prominent acharyas in the Hindu tradition ===
*[[Adi Sankara]]charya<ref>[viswakarma community] Although famous for being the proponent of ''[[advaita]] vad'', he established the supremacy of ''[[bhakti]]'' to [[Krishn]].</ref>
*[[Ramanuja]]charya<ref>He propagated the ''[[bhakti]]'' of ''[[Bhagwan]]'' ''[[Vishnu]]''. Source: [http://www.jagatguru.in/ramanuj.htm Ramanujacharya] {{webarchive |url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070826200921/http://www.jagatguru.in/ramanuj.htm |date=26 August 2007 }}</ref>
*[[Madhvacharya]]<ref>His philosophy is called ''[[dvaita]] vad''. His primary teaching is that "the only goal of a soul is to selflessly and wholeheartedly love and surrender to God" Source: [http://www.encyclopediaofauthentichinduism.org/articles/70_saints_acharyas.htm]</ref>
*[[Nimbarka]]charya<ref>His writings say that Radha Krishna are the supreme form of God.</ref>{{cn|date=March 2014}}
*[[Vallabhacharya]]
*[[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu]]
*[[Sandipani|Acharya Sandipani]]

==Buddhism==
In Buddhism, an ācārya ([[Pali]]: ''ācariya'') is a senior teacher or master. In [[Theravada]] it is sometimes used as a title of address for Buddhist monks who have passed ten ''[[Vassa|vassas]]''. In Thai, the term is ''[[ajahn]]''.

In [[Vajrayana|Vajrayana Buddhism]], tantric masters are known as [[Vajracharya|vajrācāryas]] ([[Tibetan script|Tibetan]]: ''dorje lopön;'' [[Chinese language|Chinese]]: 金剛阿闍梨, pinyin: ''jīngāng āshélí'', [[Japanese language|romanji]]. ''kongō ajari''). In Chinese Buddhism, this term is also sometimes alternatively translated as ''jingang shangshi'' ([[Chinese language|Chinese]]: 金剛上師; [[pinyin]]: ''Jīngāng'' ''Shàngshī'', lit: "Vajra Superior Master") in the context of certain rituals.

==In Jainism==
{{main|Acharya (Jainism)}}

[[File:Acharya KundaKunda.jpg|thumb|Image of Āchārya [[Kundakunda]], author of [[Jain texts]] like [[Pancastikayasara]], [[Niyamasara]]]]
In [[Jainism]], an ''acharya'' is the highest leader of a Jain order. ''Acharya'' is one of the [[Pañca-Parameṣṭhi]] (five supreme beings) and thus worthy of worship. They are the final authority in the monastic order and have the authority to ordain new monks and nuns. They also have the authority to consecrate new idols, though they occasionally appoint scholars to carry out this duty.

An acharya, like any other Jain monk, is expected to wander except for the [[Chaturmas]]. [[Bhattaraka|Bhaṭṭāraka]]s, who head institutions, are technically junior monks, and thus permitted to stay in the same place.

==In scientific/mathematical scholarship==
* [[Bhaskaracharya]]
* [[Mahaviracharya]]
* [[Bhaskaracharya I]]

==Academic degree==
In Sanskrit institutions, acharya is a post-graduate degree equivalent to [[Master of Arts]] in the Anglophone world. The equivalent of a [[PhD]] is ''vidyāvāridhi''.<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://indiankanoon.org/docfragment/33943525/?formInput=acharya%20degree%20equivalent%20to|title=Nandan Mishra vs University Of Delhi & Ors on 12 May, 2015|website=indiankanoon.org|access-date=2017-09-18}}</ref>

==References==
{{reflist}}

==External links==
{{Commonscat}}
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20060502070119/http://vedabase.net/a/acarya Scriptural References to 'acharya']
*[https://web.archive.org/web/20071006181647/http://www.jainworld.org/general/prem/Chapter%20VIII%20fe.htm Jain Monks, Statesmen and Aryikas] Dr. K. C. Jain

{{Jainism topics}}
{{Hindudharma}}
{{Buddhism topics}}

[[Category:Acharyas| ]]
[[Category:Titles and occupations in Hinduism]]
[[Category:Buddhist titles]]
[[Category:Buddhist religious occupations]]
[[Category:Swaminarayan Sampradaya]]
[[Category:Sanskrit words and phrases]]
[[Category:Titles in India]]
[[Category:History of education in India]]
[[Category:Jain religious occupations]]

Acharya - Revision history

Nandini Gowda KL at 23:24, 24 September 2025