Ratnaprabhasuri was a Śvetāmbara Jain ascetic and the 6th successor in the lineage of the monastic heads of the Chaturvidha Sangha's (transl.

[1][2] As per scriptures of the Śvetāmbara sect, he is believed to have been born in the 5th century BC in a royal family belonging to the Vidyādhara clan as Prince Ratnachuda.

Śvetāmbara scriptures have vivid descriptions of Vidyādhara kingdoms and legends about the magical powers possessed by the members of this clan.

[3][4] According to legends, Swayamprabhasuri was once preaching lay followers about renouncing and embracing monkhood, and King Ratnachuda was flying above him like Vidyādharas usually did.

[1][5] According to the 23rd chapter of the Uttaradhyayana Sutra, an ancient canonical text of the Śvetāmbara sect, Keśiśramanācharya, the 4th pattadhār in Parshvanatha's lineage, had a conversation with Mahavira's prime disciple Gautama Swami about the differences in the teachings of Parshvanatha and Mahavira.

administrative sub-sect) always maintained its unique identity of being one of Parshvanatha's lineage until its extinction in and around 1930 AD.

Biography of the Upkeśa Gaccha) of the Śvetāmbara sect, 52 years after Mahavira's nirvana, Swayamprabhasuri consecrated Ratnachudamuni as the next acharya (transl.

[1][5] Scriptures describing his life mention that he helped eliminate violent practices of animal sacrifice in the name of religion, especially the rituals of Shaktism in several regions, with his efforts at Osian being the most popular and recognized.

[3][10][11] Ratnaprabhasuri's preceptor Swayamprabhasuri had converted King Jayasena, the ruler of Śrīmal, into a devout Jain Śrāvaka.

[3][10][12] According to a legend, in 457 BC, Ratnaprabhasuri was at Mount Abu, and demi-goddess Chakreshvari appeared before him and urged him to spread the word of Jainism and save animals from religious violence in Maru Pradesh.

In such situation, it was getting difficult for monks to survive and Ratnaprabhasuri ordered all his disciples to begin moving to another city.

Due to this relationship between them and knowing that the monks sent by Chakreshvari were going away, Chamunda met Ratnaprabhasuri and urged him to stay for chaturmasya.

When he was being taken for cremation, Chamunda took the form of a white-clad Jain monk and told the people that he was still alive and then disappeared.

The water collected after washing Ratnaprabhasuri's feet was splashed on the prince's face and he was instantly revived.

[15] Further, he preached about establishing Jain temples, installing icons of Tirthankaras, and worshipping them regularly.

The Brahmins began by stating the lack of devotion in Jains and questioning Jainism's antiquity.

Ratnaprabhasuri's disciple Vīrdhawalopādhyāya countered this claim by stating accounts of Jainism in the Brahmin scriptures.

According to scriptural and local legends, one day, the cowherd saw his cow discharging milk at a part in the village.

[3][14][18] After a lengthy sermon by Ratnaprabhasuri, Chāmundā realized that violence was not the correct way and attained the Ratnatraya.

[1][4][14] The residents of the town insisted upon Ratnaprabhasuri to name their clan different from Śrīmalis and Porvāls.

[24] Just like his preceptor Swayamprabhasuri, he went to Palitana and performed Sallekhana and died after a month-long fast at the age of 84 in 443 BC.

[25] Before he died, he consecrated Vīrdhawalopādhyāya as the next head of the monastic order of Upkeśa Gaccha and named him Yakshadevasuri.

[1] Several scholars have studied his life, seeing him as a crucial figure in the history and culture of Jainism because he is considered to be the founder of the Oswāl clan.

[3][27][17] His monastic lineage and ancestry came to be known as Upkeśa Gaccha only after his efforts at Osian, which was also known as Upkeśapattan or Upkeśapur.