Acharya Bhikshu

Acharya Bhikshu undertook a two-year barefoot pilgrimage to examine monastic practices after witnessing ritual animal sacrifice at a Jain temple. He founded the Terapanth sect on the full moon day of July 1760 in the village of Kelwa, declaring thirteen rules for ascetics. Bhikshu mandated that all monks and nuns of the order travel together under a single Acharya, eliminating scattered, independent groups. He composed 38,000 shlokas, known as the 'Bhikshu Granth,' dictating scripture, conduct, and philosophy in the local Marwari dialect. His reforms banned the worship of earthly deities and temple gods, insisting on pure devotion to the Tirthankaras. Bhikshu instituted the 'Pratikraman' ritual performed twice daily for self-audit. The Terapanth’s first community consisted of 13 monks and 13 lay followers, a number he considered auspicious. His successor, Acharya Bharimal, continued his written canon. Bhikshu’s centralized, text-based discipline created one of Jainism’s most cohesive and enduring monastic orders, with a continuous lineage of Acharyas into the 21st century.