Jain monk Janakmuni Maharaj passes away

Jain saint Janakmuni Maharaj Saheb passed away in Mumbai on Thursday morning after prolonged illness. He was 78. He died at 9.09 am at Hingwala Upashray in Ghatkopar, in the presence of a large number of followers.

"Maharaj Saheb was suffering from a heart ailment for the last couple of months. He was taken to Asiad Hospital in Mumbai a month back after he suffered a massive heart attack in Rajkot," said Dinesh Doshi, secretary of Rajkot Sthanakvasi Jain Sangh.

Janakmuni was born on the 13th of August, 1933 in the Pransva village in Junagadh district. He was keenly interested in the significance of Jain Agam (scriptures). He renounced worldly life at the young age of 18. He took diksha at Veraval in Junagadh under the influence of his religious preceptor, Saursashtra Kesari Shri Pranlalji Maharaj Saheb.

After taking to monastic life, he went to Rajasthan for further study of the Agam, became a scholar of the Jain scriptures and wrote many books. His profound knowledge of the Jain scriptures is evident in his books.
The Jain monk, who had lakhs of followers both in India and abroad, was honoured with several awards including Agam Diwakar (Shining Sun of Scriptures) in 1968, Gujarat Saint Shiromani in 2002 and Bahushrut in 2005.