Swayamprabhasuri

Swayamprabhasuri or Svayamprabhasuri was a Śvetāmbara Jain ascetic and the 5th successor in the lineage of the monastic heads of the Chaturvidha Sangha's (transl.

As per scriptures of the Śvetāmbara sect, he is believed to have been born in the 6th century BC in a family belonging to the Vidyādhara clan.

[1][5] According to Uttaradhyayana Sutra, an ancient canonical text of the Śvetāmbaras, it is believed that Keśiśramanācharya had a conversation with Mahavira's prime disciple Indrabhuti Gautama about the differences in the teachings of both the Tirthankaras.

[5][6] The text further states that upon receiving adequately satisfying answers from Indrabhuti Gautama, Keśiśramanācharya and all his disciples accepted the order of Mahavira and became white-clad mendicants.

Most of the non-canonical texts of the Śvetāmbara sect agree upon this account and describe him as one of the first few Jain monks to visit Rajasthan.

[11][12] In Maru Pradesh (modern-day Rajasthan), monks neither of Jainism, nor of Buddhism had preached due to the difficult terrain (desert).

Interrupting his sermon, the Brahmin leader for the sacrificial ritual told the king that Jains do not follow the Vedas and must not be heeded to.

[1][3][12] Later on, residents of this large town moved to various parts of Rajasthan and their clan was named Śrīmali after their hometown Śrīmal.

[3] After his sermons at Śrīmal, householder and King Jayasen requested him to visit the region of Padmavati near Aravalli Range since similar practices of animal sacrifice were being performed there.

He agreed to it and owing to his labdhi and vidyā, reached Padmavati within a period of 48 minutes the morning of when the Ashvamedha Yagya was scheduled to be performed.

He renounced his kingdom and consecrated his son, Kanakchuda, as the king and along with 500 other Vidyādharas, accepted initiation into the Jain sangha.

Biography of the Upkeśa Gaccha) of the Śvetāmbara sect, 52 years after Mahavira's nirvana, in 465 BC, Swayamprabhasuri consecrated Ratnachudamuni as the next acharya (transl.

head of the monastic order) of Upkeśa Gaccha and named him Ācārya Ratnaprabhasuri who went on to create the Oswal clan.

[3][4] Mahavira, Gautama Swami, Sudharmaswami, Jambuswami attained moksha during his time as the head of the monastic order of Upkeśa Gaccha.

He is also credited with the establishment of the mercantile and warrior clans of Prāgvat (Porvāl) and Śrīmali, the members of which are some of the wealthiest merchants of India today.