Vidyadhar_Johrapurkar
Vidyadhar Pasusa Johrapurkar (born 1935) is a Sanskritist, social anthropologist and historian. His name is sometimes spelt as Vidyadhar Pasusa Joharapurkar. He specializes in Jainism and Jain philosophy.
Prof. Dr. Vidyadhar Pasusa Johrapurkar is from Nagpur. He finished his M.A. in 1956 and Ph.D. in 1959, both from Nagpur University. He worked as Professor of Sanskrit at the Department of Education, Government of Madhya Pradesh. He taught Sanskrit at the Graduate and Post-Graduate level at Government Colleges in Nagpur, Jabalpur, Jaora, Mandala and Bhopal. He retired as Professor and Head, Department of Sanskrit at Government College, Keolari, District Seoni, Madhya Pradesh.
As a child, Johrapurkar was inspired to read by his grandfather Nemasav's personal library. As a youth, he joined the Jain Svayamsevak Sangh and thus entered the field of social service. His friend Prof Dr Shantikumar Killedar instigated his study of Indian history and social anthropology.
Nearly 100 of his scholarly articles have been published in magazines such as Sanmati and Anekanta. He was interviewed more than once by Nagpur Doordarshan and Radio Nagpur.
His book Bhattaraka-Sampradaya provides a reconstruction of the Digambar Jain monastic lineages using compilations of Jain inscriptions and has been widely used as a reference.[1][2][3] On March, 16 and 17, 2024, Gurudev Samantbhadra Centre for Jainism Research, Karanja (District Washim, Maharashtra, India) hosted an event celebrating the Professor Vidyadhar Joharapurkar's academic accomplishments. Dr. Umesh Bagade, Prof. Rupesh Madkar, Prof. Gomteshwar Patil, Dr. Gajkumar Shaha, Prof. Hemlata Joharapurkar, Dr. Amit Joharapurkar, Dr. Tillo Detige, Mr. Arjav Jain delivered lectures in the two day seminar organized by Mrs. Pradnya Dongaonkar, Kirtikumar Bhore, Bharat Bhore and other volunteers of the centre.[4]