New Delhi: Jain monk Tarun Maharaj died in the early hours Saturday at east Delhi's Radhapuri Jain Temple. He was 51.

"He was not keeping well and was earlier admitted to a private hospital in Vaishali. A few days ago, he had decided to come to the Radhapuri Temple in Krishna Nagar, where he died at around 3.18 AM Saturday morning," said a senior official of the Bhartiya Jain Milan, a pan-India Jain organisation.

He said the last rites will be carried out at the Tarun Sagar Dham in Modinagar in Uttar Pradesh.

"I live in Shahdara. We got to know about his death at around 6 am and then many people rushed to have his 'antim darshan'. The temple where he died was filled with devotees. We have lost a leader of our community," the official said.

Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Home Minister Rajnath Singh condoled the death of the Jain monk.

"Deeply pained by the untimely demise of Muni Tarun Sagar Ji Maharaj. We will always remember him for his rich ideals, compassion and contribution to society. His noble teachings will continue inspiring people. My thoughts are with the Jain community and his countless disciples," Modi tweeted.

The home minister tweeted, saying the departure of the monk has left him "shocked". "I offer my tributes to his feet," he said.

Delhi Chief Minster Arvind Kejriwal expressed grief over his death.

"Pained to hear the sad demise of Muni Tarun Sagar Ji Maharaj. His teachings and ideals will always inspire humanity," he tweeted.

The Congress also expressed the condolence in a tweet.

"Deeply saddened to hear about the demise of Jain Muni Tarun Sagar ji Maharaj earlier today. His teachings and principles will continue to guide us on the right path. In this moment of loss, our prayers go out to his followers and devotees," it said.

His regular doctor under the condition of anonymity said the monk had refused treatment of jaundice and other ailments when, after suffering from jaundice for 12 days, he said that he was foreseeing his death and, so, there was no point agonising over it. Tarun Sagar refused to accept further treatment two days ago.

Tarun Sagar was well known for his distinct, katu pravachan (hard-hitting discourse) where he separated faith from superstition, condemning the latter. In fact, his book published in 2003 is titled Kadve Pravachan.

Tarun Sagar was born as Pawan Kumar Jain on 26 June 1967 to the Digambara Jain couple Pratap Chandra Jain and Shatibai Jain of Guhanchi, Madhya Pradesh. He was initiated as a Kshullak when he was all of 13 and brought to the order of monks by Acharya Pushpadantsagar on 20 July 1988 in Bagidora, Rajasthan.

Tarun Sagar Maharaj, as he was referred to by his followers, did not shy away from meeting politicians. In 2010, he raised the heckles of many in Madhya Pradesh opposition when he delivered a sermon at the State's Legislative Assembly. He accepted an invitation to the Haryana Vidhan Sabha in 2016. He appreciated as well as critiqued Prime Minister Modi.

In 2009, while accepting an invitation to the RSS Vijaya Dashami function, he told the Sangh authorities that the leather belt accessory, which was a part of the organisation's uniform, did not reflect non-violence.