Acharya Vijay Nityanand Surishwar Ji Maharaj

Jainacharya Vijay Nityanand Surishwar Ji Maharaj became a monk at the age of nine and has spent his life on foot, teaching Jain principles and supporting schools and hospitals. In 2025 he was named for the Padma Shri, from Bihar ^[1].

A monk at nine

He was born on 3 August 1958 into a Punjabi Jain family in Delhi, and at nine he and his family all took monastic vows together, giving up everything they owned ^[2]. His studies covered Sanskrit and Prakrit and was given the title Acharya at 35 ^[2]. In 57 years as a monk he has walked more than two lakh kilometres, from Jammu to Kanyakumari and from Kutch to Kolkata ^[2].

Schools and a hospital

He has set up or renovated educational institutions across India, including the 110-year-old Shri Mahavir Jain Vidyalaya in Gujarat and a Jain study centre at Sharda University ^[2]. In Lachhuar, Bihar, the Mahavir Super Speciality Hospital he helped develop offers free treatment, including eye operations, and has served more than 40,000 people, while free education is given to over 700 students a year ^[2].

He has also helped restore more than 400 Jain temples and pilgrimage sites and written more than 30 books ^[2]. His followers call him “Shantidoot”, messenger of peace ^[2].