Swami Dayananda Saraswati: Life, Arya Samaj and Teachings

Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1824–1883) was a Hindu monk and reformer who founded the Arya Samaj in Bombay in 1875. Born Mool Shankar at Tankara in Gujarat, he called Hindus "back to the Vedas", which he held to be the only fully authoritative scripture. He set out his teaching in the book Satyarth Pr

HinduTone Dharma DeskNovember 12, 20264 min read

Swami Dayananda Saraswati (1824–1883) was a Hindu monk and reformer who founded the Arya Samaj in Bombay in 1875. Born Mool Shankar at Tankara in Gujarat, he called Hindus "back to the Vedas", which he held to be the only fully authoritative scripture. He set out his teaching in the book Satyarth Prakash and worked for Vedic education, Sanskrit learning and social reform.

Key facts
Born	1824 at Tankara, Kathiawar (present-day Morbi district, Gujarat); 12 February is the date usually given
Birth name	Mool Shankar
Died	30 October 1883, Ajmer
Guru	Swami Virajananda of Mathura
Founded	Arya Samaj, Bombay, 1875
Main works	Satyarth Prakash; Rigvedadi Bhashya Bhumika; commentaries on the Rigveda and Yajurveda

Early life at Tankara

Mool Shankar was born into a Brahmin family at Tankara in Kathiawar and was taught Sanskrit and the Vedas as a boy. Two experiences are told in every account of his life, including his own short autobiographical notes. On a Mahashivaratri night vigil he saw mice running over the offerings on the Shiva image and began to doubt that the image itself was God. A few years later the deaths of his sister and of an uncle he loved turned his mind to the question of death and liberation.

Years of wandering

To avoid an arranged marriage he left home in his early twenties and spent about fifteen years as a wandering ascetic, studying yoga and Sanskrit with teachers across north India. He took sannyasa (formal renunciation) and the name Dayananda Saraswati.

In 1860 he reached Mathura and became a student of Swami Virajananda, a blind Sanskrit grammarian who taught that the older Vedic texts should be read through the grammar of Panini and that later works had obscured them. Dayananda studied with him for about three years. At the end, tradition says, his guru asked him as his fee to spend his life restoring the Vedic teaching.

The Arya Samaj

Dayananda began to lecture and debate across north India in the 1860s and 1870s, in Sanskrit and then in Hindi so that ordinary people could follow. He founded the Arya Samaj ("society of the noble") in Bombay on 10 April 1875. A second branch at Lahore in 1877 drew up the Ten Principles that the Samaj still uses, and the movement grew fastest in Punjab and the United Provinces.

What he taught

The Vedas first. He accepted the Samhitas of the four Vedas as revealed and without error, and judged all later texts by them.
One formless God. He taught worship of one God without images, through the havan (fire offering) and prayer.
Against practices he held to be later additions. He rejected image worship, hereditary caste privilege, child marriage and the ban on widow remarriage, and called for the education of girls.
Shuddhi. He supported rites to receive people back into Hinduism, which the Arya Samaj continued after him.

His views were contested in his lifetime by traditional pandits, by Christian missionaries and by Muslim scholars, and he took part in many public debates.

Satyarth Prakash and other writings

Satyarth Prakash ("The Light of Truth"), first published in 1875 and revised before his death, is his main statement of belief. He also wrote Rigvedadi Bhashya Bhumika, an introduction to his reading of the Vedas, and left commentaries on the Yajurveda and on part of the Rigveda.

Death at Ajmer

In 1883 he was the guest of the ruler of Jodhpur. He fell seriously ill there; accounts by his followers say he was poisoned. He was moved to Ajmer, where he died on 30 October 1883, the evening of Diwali. The Paropkarini Sabha he set up in his will, based in Ajmer, looks after his works.

Legacy

After his death his followers founded the Dayanand Anglo-Vedic (DAV) schools and colleges, the first at Lahore in 1886, and the gurukul at Kangri near Haridwar in 1902. Leaders of the freedom movement such as Lala Lajpat Rai came from the Arya Samaj. Arya Samaj branches today work in India and among the diaspora in Fiji, Mauritius, South Africa, the Caribbean, the United Kingdom and North America.

Frequently asked questions

Who founded the Arya Samaj?

Swami Dayananda Saraswati, in Bombay on 10 April 1875.

What was Swami Dayananda Saraswati's original name?

Mool Shankar.

What is Satyarth Prakash?

His main book, first published in 1875, setting out the teachings of the Arya Samaj.

Who was Swami Dayananda's guru?

Swami Virajananda, a blind Sanskrit grammarian of Mathura, with whom he studied from 1860.

When and where did Swami Dayananda Saraswati die?

At Ajmer on 30 October 1883.

Did Dayananda Saraswati support image worship?

No. He taught worship of one formless God and rejected image worship as a later addition to the Vedic religion.

Sources

J. T. F. Jordens, Dayananda Sarasvati: His Life and Ideas (Oxford University Press, 1978).
Kenneth W. Jones, Arya Dharm: Hindu Consciousness in 19th-Century Punjab (University of California Press, 1976).
Encyclopaedia Britannica, "Dayananda Sarasvati".

Last reviewed: 12 November 2026.