Kaundanyapur is a

village A village is a clustered human settlement or community, larger than a hamlet but smaller than a town (although the word is often used to describe both hamlets and smaller towns), with a population typically ranging from a few hundred to ...

in Amravati District in the state of

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

, thought to be the site of

Kundinapuri Kundinapuri was the capital of Vidarbha Kingdom,Pimpri–Chinchiwad History
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, ancient capital of the legendary

Vidarbha Kingdom The Vidarbha Kingdom in the Sanskrit epic Mahabharata is among the many kingdoms ruled by Yadu kings (Bhoja Yadavas). It was situated in the region still known as Vidarbha in what is now Maharashtra in the Deccan. Damayanti, the wife of Nala ...

History

Kaundanyapur is the capital of the

mentioned in the

Mahabharata The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...

. It is believed that the incident of

Rukmini Rukmini ( sa, रुक्मिणी, , ) is a Hindu goddess and the first queen and chief wife of Krishna. In Vaishnava tradition, she is described as Krishna's principal queen in Dvaraka, as well as the chief of his wives. She is an inc ...

Haran happened here.

Shri Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...

rested here for a while and drank water from the

Wardha River The Wardha River, also known as the Varada River, is a major river in Vidarbha, Maharashtra, which originates in the Satpura Range and flows into the Wain ganga river to form the Pranhita river which finally joins the Godavari river. Origin T ...

(the present name of the River Vardayini). There is a famous temple of

Vitthal Vithoba, also known as Vi(t)thal(a) and Panduranga, is a Hindu deity predominantly worshipped in the Indian state of Maharashtra and Karnataka. He is generally considered as a manifestation of the god Vishnu, or his avatar Krishna. Vithoba is of ...

and Rukhmini. The state archaeological department conducted excavations at Kaundanyapur to "ascertain its antiquity". The dig revealed traces of the rampart of the ancient city. "The stone, foundation and brick walls of what appeared to be a palatial building, probably of the 14th or 15th century AD, have also been discovered," the report adds."The rebirth of Kaundinyapur"
Times of India, 1 December 2013 An information board at the temple also says that remains from the

Copper Age The Copper Age, also called the Chalcolithic (; from grc-gre, χαλκός ''khalkós'', "copper" and ''líthos'', "stone") or (A)eneolithic (from Latin '' aeneus'' "of copper"), is an archaeological period characterized by regular ...

and

Stone Age The Stone Age was a broad prehistoric period during which stone was widely used to make tools with an edge, a point, or a percussion surface. The period lasted for roughly 3.4 million years, and ended between 4,000 BC and 2,000 BC, with t ...

are believed to have been found at Kaundanyapur. The ancient nature of the site also finds mention in the Hyderabad Gazette. Its ancient Vitthal Rukmini temple, situated on a hillock, overlooks the perennially flowing Wardha River. Some believe that in the month of Kartik, Rukmini used to come back to her maternal home in Kaundanyapur. It is also believed that there is a tunnel from the Kaundanyapur temple to another temple of the goddess

Amba Devi Amba or AMBA may refer to: Title * Amba Hor, alternative name for Abhor and Mehraela, Christian martyrs * Amba Sada, also known as Psote, Christian bishop and martyr in Upper Egypt Given name * Amba, the traditional first name given to the first ...

located close by. However, there is another Ambai temple in the city of

Amravati Amravati (pronunciation (help·info)) is the second largest city in the Vidarbha region and ninth largest city in Maharashtra, India. It is administrative headquarters of Amravati district and Amravati division which includes Akola, Buldha ...

. The telling and retelling of the story has resulted in some confusion regarding the Ambai temple from where Rukmini is believed to have eloped with

Lord Krishna Krishna (; sa, कृष्ण ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme god in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is one of ...

References

Cities and towns in Amravati district Rukhmini Udana: The Flight to Sri Krishna Reunion by Hemant Bonde Patil Atlantic Publishers & Distributors India, {{ISBN, 9788126926886
Census Data 2011 - Kaudanyapur