Kundalpur, Bihar

This article is about a village in Nalanda district, Bihar. For the town in Damoh district, Madhya Pradesh, see Kundalpur, Madhya Pradesh.

Kundalpur is a village in Nalanda district in the Indian state of Bihar. It is located about 2.5 kilometres (1.6 miles) from ancient Nalanda Mahavihara, 11 kilometres (6.8 miles) southwest of Bihar Sharif, and 80 kilometres (50 miles) southeast of Patna.

Kundalpur
Village
Kundalpur Jain temple
Kundalpur Location in Bihar
Coordinates: 25.1473°N 85.4480°E / 25.1473; 85.4480
Country	India
State	Bihar
District	Nalanda district
Languages
• Official	Hindi
Time zone	UTC+5:30 (IST)
ISO 3166 code	IN-BR

According to the Digambara school of Jainism, Kundalpur is the birthplace of Lord Mahavira, the 24th and last tirthankara. There are temples dedicated to Mahavira, Rishabhanatha, and Gautama Swami located here.

Demographics

According to the 2011 Census of India, Kundalpur had a population of 1,640 in 321 households. Males constituted 52.31% of the population and females 47.68%. Kundalpur has an average literacy rate of 42.56%, which is lower than the national average of 74%. Male literacy is 62.46%, and female literacy is 37.53%. In Kundalpur, 18.59% of the population is under 6 years of age.^[1]

Possible birthplace of Mahavira

Main article: Jain temple, Kundalpur (Bihar)

The birthplace of Mahavira (the 24th tirthankara of Jainism) remains a subject of dispute.^[2][3][4] According to the Uttarapurana — a Digambara text — Mahavira was born in "Kundpur", in the Videha kingdom.^[5] The Kalpa Sutra — a Svetambara text — uses the name "Kundagrama".^[2][6] Most Jains assert that the village of Basu Kund near the town of Vaishali is the location of the birthplace of Mahavira.^[4][7] However, some Jains of the Digambara sect have recently asserted that the village of Kundalpur in Nalanda district is the correct location.^[4][8]

References

1. "Census of India 2011". Retrieved 12 March 2014.
2. Dundas, Paul (2002). The Jains (Second ed.). Routledge. p. 25. ISBN 978-0-415-26605-5.
3. Potter, Karl H. (2007). Dalsukh Malvania and Jayendra Soni (ed.). Encyclopedia of Indian Philosophies. Vol. X: Jain Philosophy. Motilal Banarsidass Publishing House. pp. 35–6. ISBN 978-81-208-3169-8.
4. Chaudhary, Pranava K. (14 October 2003). "Row over Mahavira's birthplace". The Times of India. Patna. Archived from the original on 3 November 2017. Retrieved 3 November 2017.
5. Jain, Pannalal (2015). Uttarapurāṇa of Āchārya Guṇabhadra. Bhartiya Jnanpith. p. 460. ISBN 978-81-263-1738-7.
6. Doniger, Wendy, ed. (1999). Encyclopedia of World Religions. Merriam-Webster. p. 682. ISBN 978-0-87779-044-0.
7. Bajwa, Jagir Singh; Kaur, Ravinder (2007). Tourism Management. APH Publishing. p. 211. ISBN 978-81-313-0047-3.
8. Shukla, U. N.; Kulshreshtha, Sharad Kumar (2019). Emerging Trends in Indian Tourism and Hospitality: Transformation and Innovation. Uttar Pradesh: Copal Publishing Group. p. 105. ISBN 9789383419760.