Born Changadeva in Dhandhuka, Gujarat, he was initiated as a boy by Acharya Devachandra Suri and grew into one of the most wide-ranging scholars India has produced. At the request of King Siddharaja Jayasimha he wrote the Siddha-Hema-Shabdanushasana, a complete grammar of Sanskrit and Prakrit, which the king had carried through the city on an elephant in celebration.
He became the guide of Siddharaja's successor, King Kumarapala, who embraced Jain teaching and, by tradition, forbade the killing of animals in his kingdom. For him Hemachandra wrote the Yogashastra, a practical guide to Jain life and meditation.
His Trishashti-shalaka-purusha-charitra, the lives of the 63 great figures, is the source behind almost every modern retelling of the Tirthankaras' stories — including much of what you read on this site. He also wrote on poetics, logic, lexicography and history. His title, Kalikala Sarvajna, means one who knew everything in the dark age.
