Swami Dayananda Saraswati (स्‍वामी दयानन्‍द सरस्‍वती) (1824 - 1883) is an important Hindu religious scholar born in Gujarat, India. The Arya Samaj, a great Hindu reform movement, was founded by him in 1875. He was a sannyasin (renouncer) and an original scholar who believed in the infallible authority of the Vedas. Dayananda advocated the doctrine of karma and rebirth, and emphasised the ideals of brahmacarya (chastity) and sanyasa (renunciation).

Far from borrowing concepts from other religions, as Ram Mohan Roy had done, Swami Dayananda was fiercely critical of Islam and Christianity as may be seen in his book . He was against what he considered to be the corruption of the pure faith in his own country. Unlike many other reform movements within Hinduism, the Arya Samaj's appeal was addressed not to the educated few but to the Indian nation as a whole.

The Arya Samaj unequivocally condemned idolatry, animal sacrifices, ancestor worship, pilgrimages, priestcraft, offerings made in temples, the caste system, untouchability and child marriages, on the grounds that all these lacked Vedic sanction. It aimed to be a universal "church" based on the authority of the Vedas.

Dayananda’s concept of Dharma is succinctly

He was the first among the great Indian stalwarts who popularised the concept of Swaraj - that is, right to self-determination vested in Indians, when India was ruled by the British.

His influence reduced the unnecessary rituals that had creeped into Hinduism and this brought him in conflict with the classical Brahmans. There were many contests of knowledge, "shastrarth", between him and other priests and he won all such contests. His legacy is still visible in the Indian countryside where people just believe in Vedic yagya and not going to the Hindu temples.

Swami Dayanand wrote many books including "Rigvedbhashyabhumika".

Dayananda स्वामी दयानन्द Swami Dayananda