Kundakunda

Acharya Kundakunda
Idol of Acharya KundaKunda, Karnataka
Religion	Jainism
Sect	Digambara
Personal
Born	1st century B.C.- 1st century C.E.
Religious career
Disciple(s)	Umaswati

Acharya Kundakunda is a revered Digambara Jain monk and philosopher. He authored many Jain texts such as: Samayasara, Niyamasara, Pancastikayasara, Pravachanasara, Atthapahuda and Barasanuvekkha. He occupies the highest place in the tradition of the Jain acharyas. Modern scholarship has found it difficult to locate him chronologically, with a possible low date in the 2nd-3rd centuries CE and a late date in 8th century.

His proper name was Padmanandin, he is popularly referred to as Kundakunda possibly because the modern village of Kondakunde in Anantapur district of Andhra Pradesh might represent his native home.A.N. Upadhye has shown that possibly apart from the name Elacarya, all the other names ascribed to Kundakunda (Vakragriva, Grdhrapiccha or Mahamati) go against the tradition of the early epigraphic records.

Acharya Kundakunda belonged to the Mula Sangh order. He is closely associated with the Digambara sect, also in recent decades, his books have become popular among Śvētāmbaras also. He is dated to have flourished around second century CE by Natubhai Shah.

For Digambaras, his name has auspicious significance and occupies third place after Lord Mahavira and Gautama Ganadhara in the sacred litany. Kundakunda's singular contribution consists in his compiling a number of liturgical tracts and creating several masterly doctrinal works of his own, which provided a parallel canon for the Digambara tradition. This earned him the everlasting gratitude of the Digambaras, who have for centuries invoked his name together with that of Mahavira and his Ganadhara, Gautama, placing him ahead even of Bhadrabahu, Visakha, and some forty other elders (sthaviras) in the lineage, thus making him virtually the founder of the Digambara sect.