Acharya Bhikshu (1 July 1726 – 30 August 1803) was the founder and first spiritual head of the Śvetāmbara Terapanth sect of Jainism.
He was a devotee of Mahavira. In the initial phase of his spiritual revolution, he moved out from the group of Sthanakvasi Acharya Raghunath. That time he had 13 saints, 13 followers and 13 basic rules. This coincidence results in the name of "Terapanth" (Thirteen Path) and he referred it as "Hey Prabhu Yeh Terapanth".
Life Acharya Bhikshu (aka Bhikhanji) was born in Kantaliya in Rajasthan in 1726. He belonged to a merchant class named Bisa Oswal. He was initiated as a monk by a Sthanakvasi Acarya Ragunathji in 1751. Upon reading the scriptures, he found that the order of monks have wandered away from true teachings of Jainism; Ragunathji seconded the same but was unwilling to bring the same in the sect as they were hard to follow by the other monks.
Postage stamp
On 30 June 2004, India Post issued an INR 5 commemorative postage stamp in memory of Acharya Bhikshu on the occasion of the bicentenary of his death.
See also Jain Vishva Bharti Institute, Ladnun
References
External links Terapanth Official Website Terapanth Website