Mahāguru
Mahāguru · mahā-guru, “the great guru”
Jaya has other meanings too: see all meanings of Jaya.
Grammar: masculine noun; a compound of mahā (great) and guru: “the great guru”.
Meaning: in the Bhavishya Purāṇa, the brāhmaṇa who lives by the Jaya.
In the scriptures: Sumantu Muni tells King Śatānīka who is worthy of pūjā, starting from the upādhyāya. Above them all stands the Mahāguru. For all four varṇas he is a hundred thousand times greater than all ācāryas. Śatānīka says: “Maharshi, I know all the brāhmaṇas you have named. Only the Mahāguru I do not know.” Sumantu Muni answers that the brāhmaṇa who lives by the Jaya, the jayopajīvī, is called the Mahāguru. What the wise call together by the name Jaya is the eighteen Purāṇas, Śrī Rāma Kathā, dharmas such as Vishṇu-dharma and Śiva-dharma, the Mahābhārata, famed as the fifth Veda, and the others he names (Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 4).
Related terms: Jaya · Ācārya · Guru · Purāṇa
Sources
- Bhavishya Purāṇa, Brahma Parva, Chapter 4