Monks and Acharyas
Siddharaj and Hemchandra's Grammar
सिद्धराज और सिद्धहेम व्याकरण · સિદ્ધરાજ અને સિદ્ધહેમ વ્યાકરણ
A king's wounded pride, a monk's patient pen, and a book that rode on an elephant
- 4 min full story
- 2 min children's telling
- For all ages
- Shvetambar telling
After winning a great victory, King Siddharaj Jaysinh of Gujarat finds something in his enemy's library that makes him feel small. He turns to the young monk Hemchandra with a request that will take all of the monk's learning.
What it teaches Knowledge Humility Gift of learning
The opening of the children's telling
Long ago, there was a king of Gujarat called Siddharaj. One day he found a beautiful grammar book in a library. A grammar book teaches how to speak and write a language well. It had been written by the king of another land.
"Our children need a grammar book of our own," thought Siddharaj. "One that is clear and easy to learn." So he asked his wisest teacher, a wise monk named Hemchandra, to write one.
Read the whole story See plans
To carry into the day
The gift of knowledge feeds minds long after the giver is gone.
To talk about together
Why do you think Hemchandra named the book after the king as well as himself?
Retold for JainStory from the traditional narrative and checked against published Jain sources. Details vary between tellings.