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Kshullak Ganeshprasad Varni
File:GaneshprasadVarni.jpg
Personal
Born(1874-01-01)1 January 1874
Hansera, lalitpur, U.P.
Died5 December 1961(1961-12-05) (aged 87)[2]
Organization
PhilosophyJain philosophy based on Acharya Kundakunda's Samayasar.
Senior posting
GuruShiksha-Guru Gopaldas Bariaya, Ambadas Shahsti
Literary worksMeri Jivan Gatha (1945)
Quotation

"केवल शास्त्र का अध्ययन संसार-बन्धन से मुक्त करने का मार्ग नहीं।"

Kshullak Ganeshprasad Varni (Hindi:पूज्य 105 श्री गणेश प्रसाद वर्णी, Gujarati: શ્રી ૧૦૫ ક્ષુલ્લક ગણેશપ્રસાદ વર્ણી Kannada:ಶ್ರೀ ೧೦೫ ಕ್ಷುಲ್ಲಕ ಗಣೆಶಪ್ರಸಾದ ವರ್ಣೀ) (Born: 1874 – Died:5 December 1961) was one of the foundational figures [3]of the modern Indian Digambar intellectual tradition during early 20th century[4]. He was the founder of several schools and institutions of advanced learning including Syadwad Mahavidyalaya at Varanasi in 1905[5], Varanasi and Satark-Sudhataringini Digamber Jain Pathshala[6], now Ganesh Digamber Jain Sanskrit Vidyalaya at Sagar.

Many of the Jain scholars today are products of the institutions found by Ganeshprasad Varni. Sahajananda Varni was one of his disciple[7]. While Jinendra Varni never heard him speaking, he was deeply influenced by him[8] and had compiled a volume "Varni Darshan" to commemorate Ganeshprasad Varni's birth centenary in 1975.

Early life

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Ganesh Prasad Ji Varni was born to Hira Lal and Ujyari Devi in village Hansera in district Lalitpur (U.P.), who belonged to the Asati community. While the Asatis are mostly Vaishnava, his father had a deep faith in the Namokar Mantra[9]. He used to live in a Jain neighborhood and visit the Jain temple near his house in Mandawara. Influenced by lectures there, at the of 10, he took a vow to take meals before sunset through out his life. During his yajnopavita ceremony, he had an argument with the priest and his mother, and declared that he will be a Jain henceforth. his He passed the middle examination at the age of 15. He did not have any aptitude for shop-keeping, his father's profession, and became a school teacher.

He came into contact with a religious minded lady Chiranjibai of Simra through Karorelal Bhaiji, a spiritual man of Jatara. She developed much affection for him and treated him like her son. She supported his desire of obtaining advanced religious education spiritual development.

Education

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At that time there were no advanced scholars in the Bundelkhand region. He studied at Jaipur, Khurja, Bombay, Mathura, Varanasi and other places with great difficulty. Because of his lack of funds, he occasionally had to starve accept humiliations. he studied with Pt. Panna Lal Backliwal and Baba Gurdayal at Bombay to pass Ratnakarand_Shravakachar and Katantra-panchsanndhiki examinations. There he also met Pt. Gopaldas Baraiya, whith whom he studied Nyayadipika and Sarvarthsidhi after he had studied of Nyaya (logic) and grammar at Khurja. He was sometimes turned down by reputed Brahmin teachers. He studied under Pt. Ambadas Shastri at Varanasi. He then studied at Chakauti and Navadweep to acquire the Nyayacharya degree.

Establishment of Educational Institutions

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Based on his experience of encountering the difficulties in obtaining advanced Jain education, he strongly felt the need for establishing Jain educational institution at Varanasi. He received a donation of one rupee from someone. He used it to by 64 postcards, and sent them to some potential Jain donors. With the assistance of prominent Jain philanthropists like Babu Devkumar of Arrah, Seth Manek Chand, J.P. of Bombay etc. he established the famous Syadwad Mahavidyalaya at Varanasi in 1905. Baba Bhagirath Varni served as the superintendent (supervisor) of the institution. Even though Ganeshprasad was a founder of the Syadwad Mahavidyalaya, he accepted the rules imposed by Bhagirath Varni[10]. A number of influential Jain scholars have been a product of this institution. With the help of Pt. Motilal Nehru, he was able to get Jain studies introduced at Banaras Hindu University.

Later with encouragement of Balchand Savalnavis, and the support of Kandya, Malaiya, and other families and Singhai Kundanlal etc. he helped establish the Satark-Sudhataringini Jain Pathshala which is now the well known Ganesh Digamber Jain Sanskrit Vidyalaya at Sagar.

He also helped establish these:

  • Sri Kund Kund Jain (P-G) College, Khatauli, 1926[11]
  • Jain Higher Secondary School Sagar[12],[13]
  • Mahavira Jain Sanskrit Uchchatar Madhamik Vidyalaya, Lalitpur, 1917[14]
  • Varni Jain Inter College, Lalitpur[15]
  • Shri Ganesh Prasad Varni Snatak Mahavidyalaya, Ghuwara.
  • Varni Jain Gurugul, Jabalpur[16]
  • Shri Parshwanath Brahmacharya Ashram Jain Gurukul, Khurai, 1944[17]

After inspiring and helping establish these institutions, he left the administration to local volunteers, without bothering to remain in control, and moved on.

Spiritual Passage

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He adopted a life of renunciation and took the vow to celibacy to became Varni. He led a simple and aesthetic life and dedicated himself to the study and teaching of Jain philosophy.

He took 10th Pratima in 1944, and became a kshhullak in 1947.

He travelled extensively in India. He had donated his only wearing apparel, the Chadar, at a public meeting held in connection with Azad Hind Army at Jabalpur in 1945. It was immediately auctioned for Rs. 3000/- for raising the funds for the army.

At the age of 87, sensing his impending end, he retired to Isri Udasin Ashram which he had himself helped establish. He took the vows of a Jain Muni with the name Muni 108 Ganeshkirti. He passed away in his final meditation (Samadhi-maran) on 5th ecember, 1961. [18]

Works

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His two-volume autobiography Meri Jevan Gatha[19] has become a major source of information about the Jain society of his time[20]. It is written in a fluid and very readable style[21].

The recordings of his lectures on the Samayasar have been re-discovered and digitized. They have also been published as a book[22]

A publishing house named Shri Ganeshprasad Varni Jain Granthmala, Varanasi, named after him has published a number of important Jain texts.

==


References

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  1. ^ Meri Jivan Gatha, Ganeshprasad Varni, 1949, Shri Ganeshprasad Varni Jain Granthmala, Varanasi.
  2. ^ Meri Jivan Gatha, Dvitiya Bhag, Ganeshprasad Varni, 1960, Shri Ganeshprasad Varni Jain Granthmala, Varanasi.
  3. ^ John E. Cort
  4. ^ The universe as audience: metaphor and community among the Jains of North India, Ravindra K. Jain, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 1999
  5. ^ Ganesh Prasad Varni Ji (1874 - 1961) http://www.jinvaani.org/ganesh-prasad-varni-ji.html
  6. ^ Meri Jeevan Gatha, Autobiography By Kshullak Ganeshprasad Varni, Shri Ganesh Varni Digamber Jain Sansthan, Varanasi 1960
  7. ^ क्षु. मनोहर जी वर्णी सहजानंद महाराज का संक्षिप्त जीवन परिचय http://sahjanandvarnishastra.org/index.php/about
  8. ^ पूज्य जिनेन्द्र वर्णी जी http://www.jinvaani.org/pujya-jinendra-varni-ji.html
  9. ^ Meri Jivangatha
  10. ^ गुरु की महिमा, डॉ. राष्ट्रबंधु http://in.jagran.yahoo.com/news/opinion/general/6_3_6595625.html
  11. ^ Sri Kund Kund Jain (P-G) College, Khatauli http://kkjaincollege.org/introduction.html
  12. ^ वर्णी जयंती पर जैन स्कूल में हुआ कार्यक्रम 16 September 2011 http://sagarcity.dailyhindinews.com/2011/09/16/daily-hindi-news-varni-jayanti-celebration/
  13. ^ वर्णीजी के आदर्शों का करें पालन http://swadesh.in/default_view_pradesh_news.php?ct_id=16&limit=10&pradesh_id=2433&font=12
  14. ^ स्नातकाें का सम्मान किया http://www.amarujala.com/city/lalitpur/Lalitpur-4325-25.html
  15. ^ हर्षोल्लास से मनाया वर्णी जी का जन्मोत्सव September 28, 2010 http://www.amarujala.com/city/lalitpur/Lalitpur-2874-25.html
  16. ^ श्री गणेश प्रसाद वर्णी जी के कार्य युवा पीढ़ी के लिये आदर्श व प्रेरक-विधानसभा अध्यक्ष श्री रोहाणी http://www.mpinfo.org/mpinfonew/NewsDetails.aspx?newsid=100927N68&flag1=
  17. ^ http://www.gurukulkhurai.com/gurukul_hss/history.html
  18. ^ 'Progressive Jains, Satish Kumar Jain
  19. ^ Meri Jivan Gatha, Ganeshprasad Varni, 1949, Shri Ganeshprasad Varni Jain Granthmala, Varanasi.
    Meri Jivan Gatha, Dvitiya Bhag, Ganeshprasad Varni, 1960, Shri Ganeshprasad Varni Jain Granthmala, Varanasi.
  20. ^ The universe as audience: metaphor and community among the Jains of North India, Ravindra K. Jain, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 1999
  21. ^ The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature (Volume One (A To Devo), Amaresh Datta,Sahitya Akademi, Jan 1, 2006
  22. ^ SAMAYSAR (Prakrit - Hindi)By Acharya Kund Kund, Hindi Exposition by Kshullak Ganeshprasad Varni, Shri Ganesh Varni Digamber Jain Sansthan, Varanasi; Ist edition 1969, 470 pages


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Category:1874 births Category:1949 deaths Category:People from Madhya Pradesh Category:Hindu monks Category:Hindu writers Category:Contemporary Indian philosophers Category:Indian religious leaders Category:Indian autobiographers Category:Indian reformers

aa

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Asati (असाटी in Hindi) is a merchant community in Bundelkhand region of Madhya Pradesh. The traditional population centre has been the Bundelkhand region, with their origin claimed to be from the Tikamgarh district.[1]


Legends

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K.S. Singh [2] mentions a legend that the Asatis were originally from Ayodhya.

Origin

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In some texts the name is given as Asahati [3]or Asaiti[4]. They may have originated froma town named Asahat ( असहट ). There is a village Mahawatpur Asahat in Fatehpur district, UP. There is also a village named Asati [5][6]

Navalshah Chanderia, who wrote Vardhamana Purana in 1768 AD (sam 1825) at Khataura, included the Asati community among the eleven merchant communities that are partly Jain[7]. Others include Gahoi, Nema, Porwal etc.

Shitalprasad, the commentator of Mamal Pahud, a canonical work by Taran Swami mentions that one of the manuscripts was copied at an Asahati temple in 1624.

Ganeshprasad Varni

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Ganeshprasad Varni, one of the foundational figures [8]of the modern north Indian Digambar intellectual tradition during early 20th century was an Asati[9]. He was the founder of several schools and institutions of advanced learning including Syadwad Mahavidyalaya at Varanasi in 1905[10], Varanasi and Satark-Sudhataringini Digamber Jain Pathshala[11], now Ganesh Digamber Jain Sanskrit Vidyalaya at Sagar.

See also

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References

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  1. ^ The Tribes and Castes of the Central Provinces of India, by R. V. Russell, 1916
  2. ^ KS Singh 1998, India's communities, Anthropological Survey of India
  3. ^ A FIFTEENTH-CENTURY DIGAMBAR JAIN MYSTIC AND HIS FOLLOWERS, Taraj Taraj Svami and the Taraj Svami Panth, John E. Cort , Studies in Jaina history and culture: disputes and dialogues, Taylor & Francis, May 25, 2006
  4. ^ Navalsah Chanderia
  5. ^ A village situated in 25° 24'N., and 78° 52' E., two miles north of the Jhansi-Nowgong road. The Central India state gazetteer series, Volume 13 By Central India
  6. ^ असाटी में मूर्तियों का खजाना, 07 Sep 2011, http://www.bansalnews.com/Newsdetail.aspx?id=4256
  7. ^ गृहपति आठारम तिहि शाख, उनविन्शति में नेमा भाख
    वीसम नैत असैटी लहे पल्लिवार इकवीसम कहे ||
    पोरवार बाइसौं धार ढढतवाल तेईस निहार
    चौवीसम माहेश्वरवार इतने लौं कछु जैन लगार ||
  8. ^ John E. Cort
  9. ^ The universe as audience: metaphor and community among the Jains of North India, Ravindra K. Jain, Indian Institute of Advanced Study, 1999
  10. ^ Ganesh Prasad Varni Ji (1874 - 1961) http://www.jinvaani.org/ganesh-prasad-varni-ji.html
  11. ^ Meri Jeevan Gatha, Autobiography By Kshullak Ganeshprasad Varni, Shri Ganesh Varni Digamber Jain Sansthan, Varanasi 1960

Category:Social groups of India Category:Indian castes Category:Hindu communities Category:Social groups of Madhya Pradesh Category:Bania communities