Jain temple, Kundalpur (Bihar)

Not to be confused with Kundalpur.

Jain temple, Kundalpur is a complex of six Jain temples located in Kundalpur village near Nalanda, Bihar. Kundalpur is one of the most important Jain pilgrimages in Bihar.

Jain temple, Kundalpur
Kundalpur Jain temple
Religion
Affiliation	Jainism
Deity	Mahavira
Festivals	Mahavir Janma Kalyanak
Governing body	Bhagwan Mahavira Janmabhoomi Kundalpur Digambar Jain Samiti
Location
Location	Kundalpur, Nalanda, Bihar
Geographic coordinates	25°8′52.8″N 85°26′40.7″E
Architecture
Creator	Gyanmati
Date established	2003
Temple(s)	6

History

Kundalpur was an ancient capital city ruled by the Licchavi. Kundalpur is believed to be the birthplace of Mahavira, the 24th tirthankara of Jainism.^[1][2][3] This place is also believed to birthplace of four of the eleven Ganadhara of Mahavira,^[4] including Gautama Swami.

Architecture

The ancient Jain temple called Simhamukhi Teela is located near Nalanda and houses a 4.5 feet (1.4 m) idol of Mahavira.^[5] The temple houses a number of Jain artifacts.^[6] The new temple complex, located 1 kilometre (0.62 mi) from the ancient temple, consists of five temples.^[4] The temple is constructed using stones from Jaisalmer housing idols of Mahavira, Rishabhanatha and Gautama Swami.^[5][7][8] In Kundalpur temple complex, a total of 72 idols of Tirthankaras are installed in a separate temples.^[3]

The temple also has a dharamshala equipped with all modern facilities, including Bhojanalaya (a restaurant).^[3]

Kundalpur is one of the most important Jain pilgrimage centres of Bihar and proposed to be developed as part of the Jain circuit.^[9][10]

Gallery

• 
  3.4 metres (11 ft) idol of Mahavira
• 
  Mural of Nandyavrat Mahal temple
• 
  Rishabhanatha idol inside Rishabhanatha temple

Festival

Kundalpur Mahotsav is the main festival celebrated in here, the event is organised on the day of Mahavir Janma Kalyanak.^[11][10][12]

See also

• Pawapuri
• Rajgir

References

Citation

1. Bajwa & Kaur 2007, p. 211.
2. TNN 2013.
3. "Jain Mandir, Kundalpur". Bihar State Tourism Development Corporation. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
4. Ahmed 2017.
5. Singh 2018, p. 467.
6. Borah 2017, p. 1.
7. "Final report on 20 years perspective tourism plan for the state of bihar" (PDF). Ministry of Tourism. p. 40.
8. "Jain circuit" (PDF). New Delhi: Bihar Bhawan. p. 4. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
9. Shukla & Kulshreshtha 2019, p. 211.
10. Chaudhary 2003.
11. Nadim 2019.
12. "Kundalpur Mahotsav-2018". Nalanda District Administration. 2018. Retrieved 16 August 2021.

Sources

• Bajwa, Jagir Singh; Kaur, Ravinder (2007). Tourism Management. APH Publishing. ISBN 9788131300473.
• Shukla, U. N.; Kulshreshtha, Sharad Kumar (2019). Emerging Trends in Indian Tourism and Hospitality: Transformation and Innovation. Uttar Pradesh: Copal Publishing Group. ISBN 9789383419760.
• Singh, Pradyuman (2018). Bihar General Knowledge Digest. Prabhat Prakashan. ISBN 9789352667697.
• Ahmed, Syed Saad (1 February 2017). "The beauty and power of ancient Nalanda's ruins overwhelm the senses". Outlook (Indian magazine). Retrieved 16 August 2021.
• Chaudhary, Pranava K. (14 October 2003). "Row over Mahavira's birthplace". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
• Nadim, Farrukh (17 April 2019). "Bihar governor to open two-day Kundalpur fest today". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
• TNN (4 November 2013). "Nirvana Utsava of Lord Mahavira". The Times of India. Retrieved 16 August 2021.
• Borah, Srotoswini (2017). "Jaina Religion and their Heritage in Bihar". Research Journal of Humanities and Social Sciences. 8 (2): 223. doi:10.5958/2321-5828.2017.00033.X. Retrieved 16 August 2021.

External links

Media related to Jain temple, Kundalpur at Wikimedia Commons