2017 – Shrimad Rajchandra

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A slow start to the calendar year 2017. June saw the first commemorative release function on the occasion of 150 years of Shrimad Rajchandra.

The coin and the details of the set are;

ShrimadRajchandra, was a prominent Jain poet, philosopher, and scholar. He is best known for his teachings on Jainism and as a spiritual guide of Mahatma Gandhi.

Shrimad Rajchandra was born on November 9, 1867, in Vavania Bandar,Morbi, Gujarat. He started speaking in public at age of 10 and writing articles at 11. He performedShatavdhan (a difficult memory test of memorizing 100 different things at a time) at Sir Framji Cowasji Institute in Mumbai in 1887. The same year, he married to Jhabakben and then engaged in the pearls and diamond business. At the age of 32, he contracted an illness from which he never recovered. He died on April 9, 1901 in Rajkot, Gujarat.

He summarized his interpretation of Jainism in Atma Siddhi, a Gujarati short verse poem written when he was 28 years old. In addition, throughout his life, he wrote 800 letters charting his spiritual journey. In his letters, he mentioned having the memory of several past lives at the age of seven, and in a letter written in 1890, he mentions having achieved self-realization.

He is well known as a spiritual guide of Mahatma Gandhi. They were introduced in Mumbai in 1891 and had various conversations through letters while Gandhi was in South Africa. Gandhi noted his impression of Shrimad Rajchandra in his autobiography, The Story of My Experiments with Truth, calling Raichandbhai his "guide and helper" and his "refuge… in moments of spiritual crisis". He had advised Gandhi to be patient and to study Hinduism deeply.

Release Function

The Prime Minister, Shri Narendra Modi releasing the commemorative coin on Shrimad Rajchandraji at Sabarmati Ashram, in Ahmedabad, Gujarat on June 29, 2017. The Chief Minister of Gujarat, Shri Vijay Rupani is also seen.

PS: If you notice the initial design of Rs 150 coin, the year is depicted below the bust. In Rs 10 it is on left and right. However in the final released coins both the coins of Rs 150 as well as Rs 10 have the same design.

Executive Set: