Acharya Devanandji

Param Pujaya Gurudev Pragyakshraman Acharyashri 108 Devanandi Ji Maharaj was born on 15th August 1963 at Shahagarh, Madhya Pradesh in an ordinary Jain family. His mother, Sheela Devi, imbibed in him the virtues of Jainism and blessed him with knowledge of its practices. At a very young age of 16 years, he decided to lead the life of a monk and got inducted into monkhood under the discipleship of 108 Sri Kunthusagarji Maharaj. At the age of 18, after he completed his tutelage under 108 Sri Kunthusagarji Maharaj, he was accorded the stature of a Jain Muni. As a Muni, he focused on enriching his knowledge by reading Jain scriptures and performing Tapas (meditation).

Devanandi Ji Maharaj has penned several books including Dhyana Yog (Meditation), Vastu Vigyana (the science of Vastu), Mandir Vasthu Vigyan (the science of Vastu for temples), Mantra Vigyan (the power of hymns), Vidhi Vidhan (practices and procedures), Stotra Sahitya (a compilation of shlokas), Samanya Jain Dharma Vigyan (a book of general knowledge on Jainism) and Purana Sahitya (Puranas). These books focus on spreading the message of peace, world harmony, tenets of Jainism, the virtues of meditation, Jain science amongst others.

Munishri Devanandi Ji He has been involved with Tirth-udhar (preservation/revival of shrines) at places such as Jatwada, Kuchner, Jintoor, Gajapantha and Kunthalgiri. He is also credited with the establishment of Jain libraries at Nainagiri. These libraries serve as a single-point source for research on Jainism. In 1998, he was accorded the status of an Acharya and has until now successfully educated 20 of his disciples to monkhood.

A much sought after scholar, Munishri embarked on a tour of South India to visit and lead the preservation efforts of Jain Shrines in the region, spread the message of peace and the Jaina way of life. This tour started in 2006, after the successful completion of the Mahamastakabhisheka at the world-famous shrine of Bhagwan Bahubali at Shravanabelgola. Enroute to Chennai, Munishri has visited over 140 shrines.