New Delhi: Acharya Vidyasagar Maharaj, the current Mahavir of the Jain community, passed away. He breathed his last at 2.35 am on Saturday in Chhattisgarh. The veteran Jain monk had taken samadhi three days ago. That is, he stopped taking food and drink. Prime Minister Narendra Modi condoled his death.
Acharya Vidyasagar was born on 10 October 1946 in Sadalga, Karnataka. He took sannyasa in Rajasthan. Vidyasagar became Acharya from Muni on 22 November 1972. He was only 26 at the time. Apart from Sanskrit and Prakrit, he was fluent in languages like Hindi, Marathi and Kannada. He was also famous as a poet of Hindi and Sanskrit. On February 14, he relinquished the Acharya and took up ‘Sallekhana’. Jain saints fast and breathe their last through this method. Vidyasagar took samadhi within three days. He finally passed away late Saturday night.===
