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Concept
Hemachandra
Summary
Hemachandra was a 12th century (1088 -1172/1173 CE) Indian Jain saint, scholar, poet, mathematician, philosopher, yogi, grammarian, law theorist, historian, lexicographer, rhetorician, logician, and prosodist. Noted as a prodigy by his contemporaries, he gained the title kalikālasarvajña, "the knower of all knowledge in his times" and father of Gujarati language.
Born as Changadeva, he was ordained in the Śvētāmbara school of Jainism in 1110 and took the name Somachandra. In 1125 he became an adviser to King Kumarapala and wrote Arhanniti, a work on politics from a Jain perspective. He also produced Trishashti-shalaka-purusha-charita (“Deeds of the 63 Illustrious Men”), a Sanskrit epic poem on the history of important figures of Jainism. Later in his life, he changed his name to Hemachandra.
Hemachandra was born in Dhandhuka, in present-day Gujarat, on Kartika Sud Purnima (the full moon day of Kartika month). His date of birth differs according to sources but 1088 is generally accepted. His father, Chachiga-deva was a Modh Bania Vaishnava. His mother, Pahini, was a Jain. Hemchandra's original given name was Changadeva. In his childhood, the Jain monk Devachandra Suri visited Dhandhuka and was impressed by the young Hemachandra's intellect. His mother and maternal uncle concurred with Devachandra, in opposition to his father, that Hemachandra be a disciple of his. Devachandra took Hemachandra to Khambhat, where Hemachandra was placed under the care of the local governor Udayana. Chachiga came to Udayana's place to take his son back, but was so overwhelmed by the kind treatment he received, that he decided to willingly leave his son with Devachandra.
Some years later, Hemachandra was initiated a Jain monk on Magha Sud Chauth (4th day of the bright half of Magha month) and was given a new name, Somchandra. Udayana helped Devchandra Suri in the ceremony. He was trained in religious discourse, philosophy, logic and grammar and became well versed in Jain and non–Jain scriptures.
Official source
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