Kundalpur is a village in

Nalanda district Nalanda district is one of the thirty-eight districts of the state of Bihar in India. Bihar Sharif is the administrative headquarters of this district. The districts contain the ancient Nalanda Mahavihara a UNESCO World Heritage site. Nalanda i ...

in the

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 ...

n state of

Bihar Bihar (; ) is a state in eastern India. It is the 2nd largest state by population in 2019, 12th largest by area of , and 14th largest by GDP in 2021. Bihar borders Uttar Pradesh to its west, Nepal to the north, the northern part of West ...

. It is located about from ancient Nalanda Mahavihara, southwest of

Bihar Sharif Bihar Sharif is the headquarters of Nalanda district and the fifth-largest sub-metropolitan area in the eastern Indian state of Bihar. Its name is a combination of two words: ''Bihar'', derived from '' vihara'' (meaning monastery), also the nam ...

, and southeast of

Patna Patna ( ), historically known as Pataliputra, is the capital and largest city of the state of Bihar in India. According to the United Nations, as of 2018, Patna had a population of 2.35 million, making it the 19th largest city in India. ...

. According to the

Digambara ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being '' Śvētāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic practice of neither possessing ...

school of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

, Kundalpur is the birthplace of

Lord Mahavira Mahavira (Sanskrit: महावीर) also known as Vardhaman, was the 24th ''tirthankara'' (supreme preacher) of Jainism. He was the spiritual successor of the 23rd ''tirthankara'' Parshvanatha. Mahavira was born in the early part of the 6t ...

, the 24th and last ''

tirthankara In Jainism, a ''Tirthankara'' (Sanskrit: '; English: literally a ' ford-maker') is a saviour and spiritual teacher of the '' dharma'' (righteous path). The word ''tirthankara'' signifies the founder of a '' tirtha'', which is a fordable pass ...

''. There are temples dedicated to Mahavira, Rishabhanatha, and

Gautama Swami Gautam Swami was the '' Ganadhara'' (chief disciple) of Mahavira, the 24th and last Jain Tirthankara of present half cycle of time. He is also referred to as Indrabhuti Gautam, Guru Gautam, Gautam Swami Ganadhara and Gautam Swami. Life Gautam ...

located here.

Demographics

According to the

2011 Census of India The 2011 Census of India or the 15th Indian Census was conducted in two phases, house listing and population enumeration. The House listing phase began on 1 April 2010 and involved the collection of information about all buildings. Information ...

, 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.

Possible birthplace of Mahavira

The birthplace of Mahavira (the 24th ''

'' of Jainism) remains a subject of dispute. According to the ''

Uttarapurana ''Uttarapurana'' is a Jain text composed by ''Acharya'' Gunabhadra in the 9th century CE. According to the Digambara ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major schools of Jainism, the other being '' Śvētāmbara'' (white-clad) ...

'' — a

text — Mahavira was born in "Kundpur", in the Videha kingdom. The ''Kalpa Sutra'' — a Svetambara text — uses the name "Kundagrama". Most Jains assert that the village of Basu Kund near the town of Vaishali is the location of the birthplace of Mahavira. However, some Jains of the Digambara sect have recently asserted that the village of Kundalpur in Nalanda district is the correct location.

References

Villages in Nalanda district {{Bihar-geo-stub