Sukhlal Sanghvi

Source: Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia.

Pt. Sukhlal Sanghvi
Pandit Sukhlalji
Born(1880-12-08)8 December 1880
Limli, (Saurashtra), Gujarat
Died2 March 1978(1978-03-02) (aged 97)
Gujarat
Occupation(s)Writer, Philosopher, Editor, Linguist and Scholar
Part of a series on
Jainism
Philosophy
Ethics
Ethics of Jainism
Mahavratas (major vows)
Anuvratas (further vows)
Jain prayers
Major figures
Major sects
Schools and Branches
Jain literature
Festivals
Pilgrimages
Tirth
Other

Sukhlal Sanghvi (8 December 1880 – 2 March 1978), also known as Pandit Sukhlalji, was a

Sahitya Akademi Award and won recognition from the Government of India by getting Padma Bhushan
award. Sukhlalji was also known as Pragnachaksu because he was so vastly learned despite being visually disabled.

Early life

Sukhlal was born in the village of Limli village of

small pox infection when he was sixteen. This made him more introspective and he devoted his life to learning.[4]

Education

He attended discourses of Jain monks, and studied scriptures with the help of a reader. In 1904, he joined Shri Yashovijaya Jain Sanskrit Pathshala at

Muni Jinvijay, Muni Lalitvijay and Muni Punyavijay.[6]

Career as a scholar and a philosopher

In 1922, he joined Puratattva Mandir of

Hemacandra, with detailed introduction and notes. He not only corrected the original readings with the help of the photocopies of the original manuscripts but also gave other comparative readings. He critically edited Jayarashi's Tatavapaplava—a systematic work of Charvakas which brought him wide recognition. He threw new light on the history of Buddhist philosophy by editing Archata's commentary on Dharmakirti's Hetubindu. After retirement from Banaras Hindu University in 1944, he came back to Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan where he worked with Jain monk Acarya Jinavijayaji. In 1957, Sukhlalji was invited by the M.S. University of Baroda to deliver five lectures on Indian philosophy, which were published in Gujarati (1951), Hindi (1971) and English (1977). His scholarly lectures or Atma-Paramatma and Sadhana delivered at Gujarat Vidyasabha were also published in Hindi and Gujarati under the title of Adhyatma vicharana The University of Bombay also invited him for lectures on Acharya Haribhadra
, which were published both in Gujarati (1961) and in Hindi (1966).

A compilation of his critical essays on religion, philosophy, travel, and criticism, comprising nearly the entire body of his writing in Gujarati, was published with the title, Darshan ane Chintan (Philosophy and Reflections). This book won the

Sahitya Akademi Award for Gujarati in 1958.[5] The essays in this compilation touched on several topics, including cattle-breeding, untouchability, women's rights, and language politics in India.[5]

Legacy and influences

Young Sukhlalji was inspired by the writings of Pandit Nathuram Premi, who was to become a close family friend. Sukhlalji was non-sectarian in his attitude and shared a good rapport with many Digambara scholars like Premiji and observed their mutual respect:[7]

"He (Premiji) was considered to be a Pandit—a scholar of Jain tradition. To me it was a surprise! How could his writings be so impartial and audacious? I had come in contact with many Jain friends and scholars, but until then, excepting a few, I had not come across any scholar who was as non-sectarian or fearless as Premiji. So I had developed the perception that it was impossible to find a Jain scholar who was non-sectarian as well as fearless. Premiji's writings gradually made me realize that I had the wrong notion. This was the foremost reason for me to be attracted towards him.
[...]
We had an excellent understanding of traditions of one another but we had no sectarian complicities."

Sukhlalji also mentored three scholars of Jainism – Mahendrakumar Nyayacarya, Padmanabh Jaini and Dalsukh Malvania. Out of these, the second and third were his direct students. Sukhlalji always insisted on learning of Pali Canon for understanding Jainism and encouraged young Padmanabh Jaini to visit Sri Lanka to study Buddhism.[8] Author B. K. Matilal notes that Sukhlalji advocated "a non-partisan historical comparative study of any Sanskrit philosophical text" and noted in his preface to Advanced Studies in Indian Logic and Metaphysics (1961):[9] "I became firmly convinced that the study of any philosophical system inevitably demands certain prerequisites and these prerequisites include a fairly accurate understanding of the historical inter-relationships between the various philosophical systems of India."

He was known for his vast learning, sound scholarship, remarkable memory and for being a very ethical and conscientious person. Pandit Sukhlalji worked with a vast array of scholars and was good friends with all of them, despite not always agreeing with them. Some of the luminaries he worked with include Muni Jinvijay, Muni Punyavijaya, Acarya Prem Suri, Pandit Nathuram Premi, Pandit Jugalkishore Mukhtar, Dr. Hiralal Jain, Dr A. N. Upadhye, Dr. Mahendrakumar Nyayacarya, Prof. Dr. Padmanabh Jaini, Dr. Dalsukh Dahyabhai Malvania and Dr. Nagin J. Shah.

Awards and Doctorates

Dr. Radhakrishnan, himself a reputed philosopher and scholar paid glowing tributes to Sukhlalji by saying that his life was that of an ascetic performing Jnanayajna (Worship of Knowledge).[13]

Works

Sukhlalji was a prolific writer. He edited and translated many texts from Sanskrit to Gujarati and Hindi. A partial list of his works is enumerated below:

  • Translation of
    Tattvarthasutra
    in Gujarati and Hindi.
    • Sanghvi, Sukhlal (1974). Commentary on Tattvārthasūtra of Vācaka Umāsvāti. trans. by K. K. Dixit. Ahmedabad: L. D. Institute of Indology.
  • Translation and editing of Sanmatitarka of Siddhasena Divākara.
  • Translation and editing of kṛta Vedavādadvātriṃśikā of Siddhasena Divākara.
    • S. Divākara and S. Sanghvī (1945). Siddhasena Divākara kṛta Vedavādadvātriṃśikā. Mumbai, Bhāratīya Vidyā Bhavana.
  • Translation and editing of Nyāyāvatāra sūtra of Siddhasena Divākara (On Jain Logic, Sanskrit text and Gujarati explanation)
    • Siddhasena Divākara and Sukhalāla Sanghvī. 1995. Nyāyāvatāra sūtra. Śrī Śvetāmbara Mūrtipūjaka Boarding granthamālā, 7. Ahmedabad: Śāradābena Cīmanabhāī Educational Research Series.
  • Pacifism and Jainism. Publisher: Jain Cultural Research Society, Banaras Hindu University, 1950.
  • Samaj Dharma ane Sanskruti (સમાજ, ધર્મ અને સંસ્કૃતિ) Publisher: Gurjar Granthratna Karyalaya – Ahmedabad
  • Anekant Chintan (અનેકાંત ચિંતન) Publisher: Gurjar Granthratna Karyalaya – Ahmedabad
  • Karmagranth of Devendrasuri (4 Parts–Karmvipak Karmstav Bandhswamitva and Shadshitik) – Translation in Hindi from Sanskrit. Publisher: Parshvanath Vidhyashram - Varanasi

See also

References

  1. ISBN 81-208-1691-9
    . Preface p. vi
  2. ISBN 0-415-26606-8. {{cite book}}: |author2= has generic name (help
    ) p. 228
  3. ^ Jaini p.vi
  4. ^
    ISBN 81-260-1221-8
    . p. 4215
  5. ^
    JSTOR 23329330
    .
  6. OCLC 422763446
    . p. 190
  7. ^ Jain Study Circular (January–April 2006 Issue)
  8. ^ Jaini, Padmanabh (2000). p. vii
  9. ISBN 81-208-0717-0
    . p. xv
  10. ^ "Sahitya Akademi Awardees". Sahitya Akademi. Archived from the original on 28 August 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  11. ^ "Padma Bhushan Awardees". Ministry of Communications and Information Technology. Retrieved 23 October 2009.
  12. ^ "List of Padma awardees 2009". The Hindu. 26 January 2009. Archived from the original on 5 February 2009. Retrieved 23 October 2009. p. 48
  13. ISBN 81-260-1221-8
    . p. 4216

External links
Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Sukhlal_Sanghvi&oldid=1185468302"