The Emergence of Kundalpur Tirtha

 

Recent Developments

 

Because of numerous miracles reported at Kundalpur, it was regarded to be an Atishaya Kshetra. A few decades ago it has been identified as a Siddhakshetra also 2. Tiloyapannati mentions Kundalgiri as the nirvana site of Kevali Shridhar Swami:

 

kundala girimmi charimo kevalananeesu siridharo siddho ||1479||

 

 There has been a small charan-chinha (footprints) installed in front of the main temple under an old chhatri, but no attention had been paid to it. In 1967 AD, Pandit Jaganmohanlal Shastri and others carefully examined the charana-chinha and found the inscription “kundalagirau shri shridhara svamy” on it. After this discovery, Kundalpur came to be  regard as a Siddhakshetra. 

 

Several gajarath pratishthas with festivals have been held at Kundalpur. There are many idols that were installed in years sam. 1861, 1888, 1889, 1935, 1948 and 1958. These are likely to have been installed locally at Kundalpur. There are about twenty idols at Kundalpur installed by Jivaraj Papdival in year 1548. There were installed under supervision of Bhattaraka Jinachandra at Mudasa. From Mudasa they had been taken all over India and are now found in thousands of temples. Jinachandra’s predecessor Shubhachandra was a guru-bhai of Bhattaraka Devendrakirti of Chanderi, both being pupils of Bhattaraka Padmanandi 15. In the past, idols and property of several temples in the region had been transferred to Kundalpur including one from Raneh (sam. 1995), one from Salaiya and two from Hatta  11.

 

For a long  duration the tirtha was administered by the shravakas of nearby town Patera, led by Badkur Ramlalji. In the twentieth century, better transportation allowed the shravakas of Damoh to get involved. A committee has since then administered the tirtha. Seth Vrindavan Nathuram of Damoh was successful in restarting the annual fair in sam. 1957, after the government-imposed ban since sam. 1928 1. Late Seth Lalchand Jain and Rajaram Bajaj of Damoh were prominent leaders in the early part of the 20th century 8. The tirtha-kshetra once owned several villages, however in 1959AD the zamindari system was abolished. Still the tirtha has continued to prosper. Because of the tranquility of the tirtha, it has been a favorite retreat of scholars like Brahmachari Gokulprasadji and Pandit Jagannmohanlalji.  Acharya Vidyasagarji along with a part of his large sangha, has spent several chatrumas periods at Kundalpur, attracting large number of pilgrims. New dharmashalas and a new lecture hall have been constructed and some projects are in progress.

 

 

References

 

  1. Thakurdas Bhagavandas Javeri, Bharatvarshiya Digambar Jain Directory, 1914
  2. Jagannmohanlal Shastri, Anekanta, December 1967, page. 194.
  3. Dr. Jyoti Prasad Jain, Dilli Patt ke Mulasnaghi Bhattarakon ka Samayakram, Anekant, June. 1964, page 54.
  4. Dr. Jyoti Prasad Jain, Dilli Patt ke Mulasnaghi Bhattarakon ka Samayakram, second part, Anekant, Oct. 1964, page 159.
  5. Bansilal Pannalal Rais, Parvar Directory, 1924.
  6. V. Johrapurkar, Bhattaraka Sampradaya, 1958.
  7. Pandit Phulchandra Shasri, Chanderi-Sironj (Parwar) Patta, Anekant, April 1963, page 13.
  8. Siddhantacharya Phulachandra Shastri, Parwar Jain Samaj Ka Itihas, 1993
  9. Bhagchand Jain Bhagendu, Pateriaji Garhakota Dipika, 1997.
  10. Kamal Kumar Jain, Jinamurti Prashasti Lekh, 1982.
  11. Mohanlal Jain Kavyatirtha, Shri Akhil Bharatavarshiya Golapurva Directory, 1941
  12. Rajmal Jain Madvaiya, Vidisha Vaibhav, 1969
  13. Jyotiprasad Jain, Pramukh Aitihasik Jain Purush aur Mahilayen, 1975.
  14. Niraj Jain, Kundalpur, Anekanta, April 1964, page 43.
  15. Paramand Jain Shastri, Rajasthan ke Jain Sant Muni Padmanandi, Anekant, Feb. 1970, page 281.