KandacePolding at 12:46, 3 December 2025

2025-12-03T12:46:04Z

New page

{{Short description|Jain leader, philosopher and author (c. 459–529)}}
{{About|the Jain logician|the Buddhist author of Abhisamayalankara commentary|Haribhadra (Buddhist philosopher)}}
{{Use dmy dates|date=February 2016}}
{{Use Indian English|date=February 2016}}
{{Infobox religious biography
| religion = [[Jainism]]
| sect = [[Śvetāmbara]]
| birth_date = 459
| death_date = {{death year and age|529|459}}
| image = Acharya Haribhadrasuri.jpg
| caption = Author of 1444 volumes: Yākini Mahattarā Sūnu Acharya Haribhadrasuri Maharaja
| honorific-prefix = Aacharya Shri
| honorific-suffix = Suriji
}}
{{Jainism}}
[[Acharya]] '''Haribhadra Suri''' was a [[Śvetāmbara]] [[mendicant]] [[Jainism|Jain]] leader, [[philosopher]][[Doxography|, doxographer]], and author.<ref>{{cite web |title=Shri Haribhadrasuri |url=https://www.tattvagyan.com/wp-content/cache/supercache/www.tattvagyan.com/jain-stories/shri-haribhadrasuri/index.html |website=Tattva Gyan |access-date=8 January 2021 |date=20 October 2020 }}{{Dead link|date=August 2025 |bot=InternetArchiveBot |fix-attempted=yes }}</ref> There are multiple contradictory dates assigned to his birth. According to tradition, he lived c. 459–529 CE. However, in 1919, a Jain monk named [[Jinvijay]] pointed out that given his familiarity with [[Dharmakirti]], a more likely choice would be sometime after 650.<ref>{{harvnb|Chapple|2003|pp=1–2}}</ref> In his writings, Haribhadra identifies himself as a student of Jinabhaṭasūri of the Vidyadhara Kula. There are several, somewhat contradictory, accounts of his life. He wrote several books on Yoga, such as the [[Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya]] and on comparative religion, outlining and analyzing the theories of Hindus, Buddhists and Jains.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Acharya Haribhadra Suri |url=https://jainqq.org/explore/201051/3?highlight=Haribhadra}}</ref>

==Life==
The earliest story of his life say that Haribhadra was born in [[Dharmapuri]] and that he was an educated [[Brahmin]] who decided that he would become a pupil of anyone who could state a sentence which Haribhadra could not understand. After hearing a Jain nun named Yākinī Mahattarā recite a verse that he could not understand, he was sent to her teacher Jinabhaṭa, who promised Haribhadra that he would instruct him if Haribhadra accepted [[initiation]] into Jainism. Haribhadra agreed, and took the name Yākinīputra (Spiritual Son of Yākinī).<ref>{{harvnb|Dundas|2002|p=12}}</ref>

[[File:Yakiniputra Acharya Haribhadrasuri.jpg|thumb|An idol of Yākiniputra Ācārya Haribhadrasuri and Yākini Mahattarā at Chittorgarh Śvetāmbara Jain Temple, Rajasthan]]

The second account, which bears similarities to the story of Akalanka Digambara, also shows the state of relations between [[Buddhism|Buddhist]] and Jain mendicants at the time. In this story, Haribhadra was teaching two of his nephews. These nephews went to secretly study [[logic]] at a Buddhist temple, and fled after being discovered there. One of them was killed by the Buddhists, and the other died of grief later. Haribhadra engaged the monks of this monastery in a philosophical debate, and emerged victorious. He then ordered the losing monks to jump into a vat of hot oil. When Haribhadra's own teacher heard of this, he ordered Haribhadra to undertake severe penances for his unseemly display of anger and attachment. Haribhadra did so, and took the title "Virahānka", which means "having separation (or viraha, from his nephews) as a distinguishing characteristic".{{Citation needed|date=June 2013}}

Tradition ascribes some 1444<ref>{{Cite web |title=Prabuddha Jivan 2016 10 |url=https://jainqq.org/explore/526099/42?highlight=Haribhadra%201444}}</ref> different works to him. A more creditable number is in the vicinity of 100, some of which are among the most highly regarded works in Jainism. Scholar H.R. Kapadia attributes eighty-seven works to Haribhadra, Jinavijaya attributes twenty-six and Sukhlal Sanghvi attributes forty-seven.<ref>{{harvnb|Chapple|2003|p=5}}</ref> Some have even suggested that, based on the language and subject material of the books ascribed to Haribhadra, there were two Haribhadras, the first of which, Haribhadra Virahāṅka, may have lived around the sixth century, and the second, Haribhadra Yākinīputra, was a monk who lived in a temple around the eighth century. Scholars of the Śvetāmbara community itself tend to hold with the belief that there was only one Haribhadra.{{Citation needed|date=June 2013}} Among his important teachings were tolerance for other traditions, and that ultimate reality can be grasped from multiple different perspectives.{{Citation needed|date=June 2013}}

==Philosophy and influence==
With his writings, he established that [[Sanskrit]], rather than [[Prakrit]], would be the language of Jain study. He used his only familiarity with the techniques of brahmanical study and wrote in the same style. He is also noted for the great respect he displays toward other religious traditions. He even did what few other Jain scholars have done, and wrote a commentary on the ''Nyāyapraveśa'', a text by Śaṅkarasvāmin on the form of [[Indian logic]] formulated by the Buddhist scholar [[Dignāga]].<ref>{{harvnb|Tachikawa|1971}}</ref> He does however ultimately support Jain thought, arguing that the other beliefs tend to display only a one-sided view of the greater reality.<ref>{{harvnb|Chapple|2003|p=8}}</ref> He tried to combine the good points of various religious philosophies that existed in his times for spiritual liberation in his work [[Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya]].<ref>{{harvnb|Chapple|2003|p=1}}</ref>

Haribhadra promoted a form of [[religious pluralism]], [[perennial philosophy|perennialism]] and a respect for different religious traditions. He writes that though they have different names, the teachings of those who have achieved liberation ([[moksha|mokṣa]], [[nirvana|nirvāṇa]], [[Kevala Jnana|kevala]]) are grounded on a common truth. He wrote: "''Perhaps the teaching is one, but there are various people who hear it.''
''On account of the inconceivable merit it bestows, it shines forth in various ways.''"<ref>Chapple, Christopher; Reconciling Yogas: Haribhadra's Collection of Views on Yoga, 2003, page 8</ref>

==Works==
Among his other works are:<ref>{{cite web |title=Haribhadra @ HereNow4U |url=http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=62442&person=846 |website=HereNow4U: Portal on Jainism and next level consciousness |access-date=8 January 2021 |language=en |archive-date=10 January 2021 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20210110172508/http://www.herenow4u.net/index.php?id=62442&person=846 |url-status=dead }}</ref>

* ''Anekāntajayapatākā'' [The ''Victory Banner of Anekantavada (Relativism'')] - which puts forward arguments about [[Anekantavada]]
* ''Anekāntavādapraveśa,'' - a primer to help beginner to master works like Anekāntajayapatākā.<ref name=":0">{{Cite book |last=Suri |first=Haribhadra |url=https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.279559/page/n21/mode/2up?view=theater |title=Anekāntajayapatākā Vol. 2 |date=1947 |publisher=Gaekwad Oriental Series |editor-last=Kapadia |editor-first=Hiralal Rasikdas |pages=li}}</ref>
* ''Anekāntasiddhi'', It establishes the concept of non-absolutism [[Anekantavada|(anekānta)]]''.''
* ''Ātmasiddhi'' (Realization of Self), a work of Soul
* ''Upadeśapada'', collection of stories which depicts how difficult it is to secure a human birth
* ''Daṃsaṇasuddhi,'' text deals with [[Samyagdarsana|Samyagdarśana]] (right faith) and its purity
* ''Darisaṇasattari,'' another work on ''[[Samyagdarsana|Samyagdarśana]]''
* ''Dhammasaṅgahaṇi, work on [[Dharma]]''
* ''Lokatattvanirṇaya,'' a work of comparative religion where he talks about Hindu Gods
* ''Saṃsāradāvānalastuti,a work praising [[Tirthankara|Tīrthaṅkaras]]''
* ''Samarāiccakahā,'' a tale of ''Agniśarman'' and ''Guṇasena''
* ''Sambohapayaraṇa,'' a work on philosophy
*''Samasaṃskṛtaprākṛta stotra'' - a stotra in praise of Jina written in style such that it can be read in both Saṃskṛta and Prākṛta.<ref>{{Cite web |title=Jaina Literature Portal |url=https://svyoma.github.io/jaina-literature/misc-works/jinasadharana_haribhadrasuri.html |access-date=2025-01-16 |website=svyoma.github.io}}</ref>
* ''Aṣṭakaprakaraṇa'' (''The Eightfold Explanation''): Thirty-two 8-versed works on various topics.
* ''Dharmabindu'' - which outlines the duties of the laity, outlines rules for mendicants, and describes the bliss of [[moksha]]
* ''Dhūrtākhyāna'' (''The Rogue's Stories'').
* ''Pañcāśaka'' ''Prakaraṇa'' - a Prakrit work on rituals and spiritual matters
* ''Ṣaḍdarśanasamuccaya'' (''Compendium of Six Philosophies'') - which compares Jainism with other schools of Indian philosophy
* ''Samarāiccakahā'' (''The Story of Samarāicca'') - a narrative which outlines the effects of [[karma]] in a story about the enmity of its characters which endures over several [[reincarnations]]
* ''Sāstravārtāsamuccaya'' (''The Array of Explanatory Teachings'')
* ''Yogabindu'' (''The Seeds of Yoga'') - a work on [[yoga]]
* ''[[Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya]]'' (''An Array of Views on Yoga'') - another work on yoga
* ''Yogaśataka'' - a third work on yoga. In these three volumes, he compares the yoga of Jainism with the other varieties of yoga prevalent in India at the time
*''Sarvajñasiddhi''<ref name=":0" />
Apart from his original works, he has also authored following commentaries:<ref name=":0" />

* Śiṣyahitā on [[Anuyogadvāra-sūtra|anuyogadvārasūtra]]
* Śiṣyahitā on [[Āvaśyaka Sūtra]] and its niryukti
* Caityavandanasūtravṛtti or Lalitavistara (Jaina)
* Laghuvṛtti on [[Jīvājīvābhigama-sūtra]]
* Śiṣyabodhinī on [[Daśavaikālika-sūtra]]
* Pradeśavyākhyā on [[Prajñāpanā-sūtra]]
* Ḍupaḍipkā on [[Tattvartha Sutra]]

==Notes==
{{reflist}}

== References ==
*{{citation
|last=Chapple
|first=Christopher Key
|title=Reconciling Yogas: Haribhadra's Collection of Views on Yoga
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=fZ6qQMNCsW8C
|year=2003
|publisher=Suny Press
|isbn=978-0-7914-5899-0}}
*{{citation
|last=Dundas
|first=Paul
|title=The Jains
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=jdjNkZoGFCgC
|year=2002
|publisher=Routledge
|isbn=978-0-415-26605-5}}
*Great Thinkers of the Eastern World (1995), I.P.McGreal (ed.), Harper Collins, New York.
*Wiley, Kristi L. ''Historical Dictionary of Jainism''. Lanham, MD:The Scarecrow Press, Ltd. 2004. {{ISBN|0-8108-5051-6}}.
*{{citation
|last=Glasenapp
|first=Helmuth Von
|title=Jainism: An Indian Religion of Salvation
|year=1999
|location = Delhi
|publisher=Motilal Banarsidass
|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=WzEzXDk0v6sC
|isbn=81-208-1376-6}}
*{{cite journal |last=Tachikawa |first=Musashi |title=A Sixth-Century Manual of Indian Logic (A Translation of the Nyayapravesa) |journal=Journal of Indian Philosophy |volume=1 |issue=2 |date=March 1971 |pages=111–145 |doi=10.1007/BF00173476 |jstor=23437945 |s2cid=170231160 |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23437945 |url-access=subscription }}

==Further reading==
*Haribhadra. ''Anekāntajayapatākā'', ed. H.R. Kapadia, 2 vols, Baroda, 1940 and 1947.
*Haribhadra. ''Aṣṭakaprakaraṇa'', Ahmedabad, 1918.
*Haribhadra. ''Dhūrtākhyāna'', ed. A. N. Upadhye, Bombay, 1944.
*Haribhadra. ''Lalitavistarā'', ed. Muni Bhānuvijaya, Ahmedabad, 1963.
*Haribhadra. ''Samarāiccakahā'', ed. H. Jacobi, Calcutta, 1926.
*Haribhadra. ''Yogabindu'', ed. and trans. K. K. Dixit, Ahmedabad, 1968.
*Haribhadra. ''Yogadṛṣṭisamuccaya'', ed. and trans. K. K. Dixit, Ahmedabad, 1970.

{{Jain Gurus}}
{{Jainism topics}}
{{Authority control}}

[[Category:Jain acharyas]]
[[Category:Indian Jain writers]]
[[Category:Indian Jain monks]]
[[Category:7th-century Indian Jains]]
[[Category:7th-century Jain monks]]
[[Category:7th-century Indian monks]]
[[Category:8th-century deaths]]
[[Category:459 births]]
[[Category:Śvetāmbara monks]]
[[Category:Rajasthani literature]]

Haribhadra - Revision history

KandacePolding at 12:46, 3 December 2025