Monks and Acharyas
Acharya Haribhadra Suri
आचार्य हरिभद्र सूरि · આચાર્ય હરિભદ્રસૂરિ
The proudest scholar in Chittor, humbled by one verse from a nun
- 5 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- Best shared with a grown-up
- Shvetambar telling
Haribhadra was a brilliant Brahmin scholar who had vowed to become the student of anyone who said something he could not understand. One night a nun's verse caught him, and years later a deep grief tested everything he had learned.
What it teaches Humility Overcoming anger Gratitude Learning
The opening of the children's telling
Long ago, in the city of Chittor, there lived a very clever man called Haribhadra. He knew so many things that he said, 'If anyone says something I cannot understand, I will become their student.'
One evening he walked past a place where Jain nuns lived. An old nun named Yakini Mahattara was saying a verse. Haribhadra listened, and listened again, but he could not understand it at all!
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
Grief does not have to become revenge; a mind that stops in time can turn its worst moment into compassion.
To talk about together
When we feel very angry, what helps us stop before we do something we would be sorry for?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.