Panyas

Chandrashekhar Vijayji

He was born on 18 January 1934 (Vikram Samvat 1990, Falgun Sud 5) in Bombay to Subhadraben and Kantilal Jivatlal Pratapshi. His family belonged to Radhanpur in present-day Banaskantha district. His birth name was Indravadan. He studied till matriculation. He was initiated as a Jain monk by Prem Suri on 15 May 1952 (Vikram Samvat 2008, Vaisakh Vad 6) at Motisha Jain auditorium, Byculla, Mumbai and was given new name, Chandrashekhar Vijay. Later he was elevated to designation of Panyas on 2 December 1984 (Vikram Samvat 2041, Magshar Sud 10) at Navsari, Gujarat.[1][2][3] He led a nationwide campaign in 2002–2003 against the plan of opening 56,000 new abattoirs by the Government of India. He initiated 87 disciples as Jain monks. He authored more than 261 books on various subject including religion, culture, nationalism, history, education, criticism and short stories. He established several religious and socio-cultural organizations such as Akhil Bharatiya Sanskruti Rakshak Dal and Vardhaman Sanskardham. He founded two schools which professes Indian cultural education, Tapovan Sanskardham at Navsari and Tapovan Sanskarpith near Ahmedabad. He was also considered as one of the best orators among Jain monks. He died on 8 August 2011 (Vikram Samvat 2067, Shravan Sud 10) at Ambavadi, Ahmedabad. He was cremated at Tapovan Sanskarpith, Amiyapur, Gandhinagar where his memorial temple was constructed later. Read more Read less