Vyom A. Shah (✉) | October 11, 2025
Pt. Bechardas Jivraj Doshi (Jan 23, 1890-Oct 11, 2025)
श्रीमद्बेचरदासाख्यः पण्डितो लोकविश्रुतः।
वदान्यो विदुषां मान्यो विबुधो द्युतकल्मषः॥
Early Life and Struggles
One of the foremost scholars and an authority in Prākṛta and Saṁskṛta, and of Jaina andBuddhist canons, Pt. Bechardas Doshi was no less than a walking library himself. Born in 1889 in a Viśā Śrīmalī Jaina family in Vaļā (ancient Valabhī), Bechardas had seen nothing but poverty and misery in his childhood. He lost his father Jivraj when he was young. Mother Otambai had to sell off jewellery to perform her husband’s last rites.
Education and Early Training
The educational career of Bechardas began at Saṇosarā and continued in Jaina Pāṭhaśālā in Māṇḍal. Despite his earnest desire to study in Kāśī, he was restricted as his mother feared that he might join the Jaina monastic order as a monk. In harsh conditions, he started studying Jaina works in Pālitāṇā under the guidance of Siddhicandravijaya. His preliminary studies continued in Jaina Pāṭhaśālā at Mehsana. Finally, he managed to reach Vārāṇasī to study works on grammar, logic, and literature. His initial days in Banāras were full of hardships as he found it difficult to follow the lectures of the Paṇḍits. Dharmasūrijī (then Dharmavijayajī) arranged for his study under Amīravijayjī. He first learnt the Siddhahemaśabdānuśāsana – the grammar of Hemacandra with laghuvṛtti. He learnt Sanmati-tarka-prakaraṇa of Siddhasena Divākara under Pt. Nakachedarām. As he returned to Gujarat after his studies, scholars like A. B. Dhruv were impressed by his scholarship known through his learned essays read in academic conferences. His scholarship was duly recognized by scholars like C. D. Dalal who even offered him a position at the Oriental Institute of Baroda. Being a nationalist, he declined the offer to join the Gujarat Vidyāpīṭh established by Mahatma Gandhi.
Recognitions and Scholarly Pursuits
He then revisited Banāras to study Nyāya, Sāṁkhya, etc., philosophies in depth. Apart from studies, he collaborated with fellow scholars like Pt. Hargovinddas in editing the prestigious Yaśovijaya Jaina Granthamālā. Dharmasūrijī sent Pt. Bechardas and Pt. Hargovinddas to Colombo along with Satish Chandra Vidyabhushan for the study of Pālī. They returned after completing their training in Pālī and Tripiṭaka in merely eight months. Bechardas had attained a strong grip over Prākṛta by this time. Now, he took up the work of translating the Śvetāmbara canons into Gujarātī to be published in Puñjābhāī Granthamālā. His exercise met with very strong opposition in the Jaina community. He wrote strong articles in Gujarātī during this period but he was eventually excommunicated. Mahatma Gandhi supported him during this phase. From then on, he joined hands with Pt. Sukhlal Sanghvi in the monumental editing of Siddhasena’s Sanmatitarkaprakaraṇa with commentary by Abhayadevasūri at Gujarat Vidyapith in 1922.
In Freedom Struggles and Later Years
During the famous Dāṇḍī Kūca, when Mahatma Gandhi was locked behind the bars, he was entrusted with the responsibility of editorship of the Navajīvan. He was eventually arrested by the British government and was later served with an order of restriction from entering the British-administered territory. He lived in Rajasthan during these years and taught Prākṛta to young Jaina monks. In 1936, the bar was lifted. He returned to Ahmedabad. He introduced a course in Ardhamāgadhī at the University of Bombay with was eventually accepted. He also became editor of the Jainaśāsana periodical which discussed Jaina theological and dogmatic questions. He spent several years writing articles, editorial prefaces, and teaching Jaina monks and nuns. Pt. Doshi’s scholarship in Prākṛta and the Jaina canon was well-known but he was also a great Saṁskṛtist. He was honoured by Government of India with national award for Saṁskṛta.
A Life Disciplined by Learning
Soft in speech and composed in bearing, yet unwavering in conviction—he remained a silent revolutionary. Writing chiefly in his mother tongue, Gujarātī, he spent each moment in the service of knowledge: editing, translating, teaching. For over nine decades he lived a life disciplined by learning, until the curtain fell on 11 October 1982. Though born in a Vaiśya household, he held vidyā above dhana, wisdom above wealth. As we recall his passing, we also recall the luminous company of those who lived and laboured for the endurance of our language and culture.
Acknowledgement: Adapted from biographical sketch produced in Pt. Bechardas Commemoration Volume (Aspects of Jainology Vol. 2)
P.S.: A list of the original works, translated/edited works and articles is compiled by Dr. Saloni Joshi. Interested individuals shall refer Aspects of Jainology: Vol. 2 pp. 13-22
Author of this blog is an enthusiast in Saṃskṛta, Prākṛta and Apabhraṃśa, currently pursuing Masters in Sanskrit. Know more here.