Acharya Vidyasagar Maharaj, who passed away at the age of 77 after three days of 'Sallekhana vrat' (fasting to death), was a renowned Digambar Jain saint. He was born in Karnataka, was initiated as a Digambar monk at the age 22 and was elevated to the 'Acharya' status in 1972. He was also a scholar of Sanskrit and Prakrit.