Row over Mahavira’s birthplace

PATNA: A fresh controversy over the birthplace of Lord Mahavira has cropped up following the Bihar government’s participation in a mahotsava “to promote Kundalpur (Nalanda) as the Lord’s birthplace�.
The three-day mahotsava at Kundalpur, which concluded on October 10, was organised by the Bhagwan Mahavira Janmabhoomi Kundalpur Digambar Jain Samiti.
According to historians, Jain followers of different sects believe there are three places in Bihar associated with the birthplace of Lord Mahavira. These are Basokund in Vaishali, Lachhuar in Jamui and Kundalpur. The most accepted among the three is Bosokund, said many historians quoting several ancient and modern texts.
The secretary of the Bhagwan Mahavira Smarak Samiti, Patna, Kailash Chandra Jain, has taken exception to the state government’s participation in the Kundalpur mahotsava. “There are no historical records in favour of Kundalpur; such mahotsavas create unnecessary confusion,� Jain told TNN.
He said he was not against anybody organising a fest. “But it is wrong to propagate any place other than Basokund as the Lord Mahavira’s birthplace,� he said, adding the state government should not collaborate with organisations creating confusion about well-accepted facts.
Several historians, including Delhi University’s former history HoD R S Sharma, Patna University’s history HoD Ajay K Singh, Kashi Prasad Jayaswal Research Institute, Patna, director Bijoy K Chaudhary and acting director, Research Institute of Prakrit, Jainology and Ahimsa, Vaishali, Shiv K Mishra also said that Basokund is the most-widely accepted birthplace of Lord Mahavira.
Inquiries revealed that several scholars, including D B Spooner, R C Majumdar, W A Smith, P C Rai Chaudhary, Nand Lal Dey, Rajendra Prasad, Rahul Sankritayana, Jagdish Chandra Mathur and S Radhakrishnan have accepted Basokund as the birthplace of Lord Mahavira in their various articles.
However, Sarika Jain of the Bhagwan Mahavira Janmabhoomi Kundalpur Digambar Jain Samiti, Nalanda, claimed that 90 per cent people believe Kundalpur is the birthplace. “Basokund,� she said, “Bhagwan Mahavira ki nanihal hai�. In the “Uttar Purana�, there is a reference to Kundalpur as the Lord Mahavira’s birthplace, she said.
On the other hand, Sadhvi Sampragyaji, chief patron of Veerayatan, Rajgir, told TNN on phone “we strongly believe that Lachhuar is the actual place of birth of Lord Mahavira. We also built a school at Lachhuar in 2001 on the occasion of 2600th birth anniversary of Lord Mahavira.�
State tourism minister Ashok K Singh told TNN the government is not concerned about the controversy. “We are interested in promoting tourism. Kundalpur is one of the famous tourist sites of Bihar and it would be developed as the one in the proposed Jain circuit,� he said, justifying the government’s participation in the mahotsava.