Place · Digambara Jain temple complex · India
Kundalpur, Damoh
Also known as Bade Baba, Bade Baba (Adinath), Damoh, Kundalpur, Kundalpur — Damoh
The Kundalpur Jain siddhakshetra at Kundalpur village in Damoh district, Madhya Pradesh, 125 kilometres from Jabalpur — one of the five Digambara Jain siddhakshetras of Bundelkhand. The site is identified in Digambara Jain tradition as the birthplace of Mahavira (the 24th Tirthankara) — against the Svetambara claim that Mahavira was born at Kundagrama near Vaishali, Bihar, 1,000 kilometres away. The temple's foundation is traditional 11-century; the modern 110-foot (33-metre) seated Mahavira idol (completed 2007 by Acharya Vidyasagar Maharaj) is one of the largest Jain idols in India. The ancient Kundalpur complex includes 63 original Jain temples. The temple's annual Mahavir Jayanti festival each April draws over 500,000 Digambara Jain pilgrims. The complex is managed by the Shri Kshetra Kundalpur Digambar Jain Siddhakshetra Trust.
- Function
- Sacred site & pilgrimage
- Confidence
- Established / referenced
- Location
- 23.830, 79.430
Connections (1)
- Companion in the same setAntariksh Parshwanath, Shirpur
Antarīksha Pārśvanātha at Shirpur and Kundalpur at Damoh are both sites where Digambara and Śvetāmbara claims meet the modern Indian courts and the modern conservation argument — one over which sect owns the image, the other over whether rebuilding a siddhakshetra in new marble destroys what made it one. The Antarīksha image is said to stand clear of its pedestal — antarīksha, in the air — and the dispute over which sect owns it has run through Indian courts for decades.
On these journeys
Sources
Wikipedia, “Kundalpur, Madhya Pradesh”. Jain tīrtha guides and the Digambara and Śvetāmbara temple trusts’ own records.
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