Acharya Hemachandra

Acharya Hemachandra (Sanskrit: हेमचन्द्र सूरी, 1087–1172) was a Jain scholar, poet, and polymath who wrote on grammar, philosophy, prosody, and contemporary history. Noted as a prodigy by his contemporaries, he gained the title Kalikāl Sarvagya "all-knowing of the Kali Yuga".

He was born in Dhandhuka, Gujarat (about 100 km south west of Ahmadabad), to Chachadeva and Pahini Devi. They named him Chandradeva. The Jain derasar of Modhera Tirtha is located at his birthplace. As a young man, Chandradeva was initiated as a monk at a derasar and took the name Somachandra. He was trained in religious discourse, philosophy, logic and grammar. In 1110, at the age of 21, he was ordained as an acharya of the Svetambara sect of Jainism and was given the name Somachandra (popularly Hemachandra).

At the time, Gujarat was ruled by the Solanki dynasty. Hemachandra rose to prominence under the reign of Mulraj and was an advisor to his successor Kumarpal (1143–1173). During Kumarapala's reign, Gujarat became a reputed center of culture. Starting in 1121, Hemachandra was involved in the construction of the Jain temple at Taranga. His influence on Kumarapala resulted in the Jain religion becoming the official religion of Gujarat, and animal slaughter was banned.