Teacher of Humanity

Author(s): C S Mallinath
Publisher: Pulchandji Ved

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with his work. Evening after evening he visited with his monks the most crowded parts of the city and preached to the people the sublime teachings of Jainism. His learned lectures and his arguments attracted the attention of the orthodox pandits who began to take interest in him. In course of time he gained their friendship and their sympathies. A spacious building was purchased and the Yashovijaya Jain Pathashala was re-established on a firmer basis. Students of all castes and creeds were admitted into the College, The number of students rapidly increased. Sanskrit, Prakrit, Jaina Philosophy, and Literature were specially taught. To afford facilities to students, a library consisting of a large number of ancient and modern works in English, Gujarati, Hindi and Sanskrit was founded with the name of Hemachandracharya Jaina Pustakalaya and placed under the supervision of the learned Upadhyaya Shri Indra Vijaya (now Acharya Vijaya Indra Suri).
The fame of Dharma Vijaya as a great religious preacher rapidly spread in Benares. One day, the Maharaja of Benares sent for him ; and he went to the palace and there before the Maharaja and a gathering of pandits, delivered a very learned lecture on Jainism. He proved to the audience how absurd and irrational it was to call Jainism an atheism when it believed in God, Soul, punya, papa, moksha, moksha-marga, heavens and hells.