Swāmī Dayānanda Sarasvatī
1824–1883 · Ṭaṅkārā, Gujarat · Ārya Samāj
Mūlśaṅkar, born at Ṭaṅkārā in Gujarat, left home as a young man in search of truth and studied under the blind grammarian Swāmī Virajānanda at Mathurā. As Swāmī Dayānanda Sarasvatī he called Hindus “back to the Vedas”, and in 1875 founded the Ārya Samāj in Bombay.
He opposed image worship, caste by birth, child marriage and untouchability, and supported the education of women and the reading of the Vedas by all. His chief work is the Satyārtha Prakāś. Schools and colleges such as the DAV institutions grew from his movement.
It is told that as a boy keeping the Śivarātri night vigil, he saw a mouse climb onto the Śiva-liṅga and eat the offerings. The sight set him questioning, and began the search that led him to the Vedas.
1824–1883 · Ārya Samāj, 1875 · Satyārtha Prakāś