ABSTRACT
The most auspicious Jain mantra is Namaskāra (Sanskrit), or Navakār (Hindi). Its first two lines venerate the Jinas (arhat and siddha) also called liberated beings, and the third line reveres ācāryas (mendicant leaders). Veneration of Jinas and ācāryas with or without material offerings indicate Jain bhakti or devotion. While devotion to the Jina is found in all Jain traditions, because of the central role of the ācārya in Śvetāmbara Terāpantha, there is a distinctive bhakti formation. This chapter will examine this distinct ācārya bhakti by exploring Terāpanth Prabodh, a ballad, composed by the late Ācārya Tulsī. Over the past two decades, there has been a growing body of scholarship on bhakti in Jain practice, but the research has focused on icon-worshipping Digambara and Śvetāmbara traditions. This chapter inquires into the practice of bhakti in aniconic Śvetāmbara Terāpanth Jain tradition.
