Mahavir Mandir, Patna

About Mahavir Mandir, Patna

Mahavir Mandir, beside Patna Junction railway station, is the most famous Hanuman temple in Bihar. The deity is worshipped as Sankat Mochan — the remover of troubles — and Tuesdays and Saturdays, Hanuman's days, bring long queues of devotees. The temple's naivedyam laddus are well known across the state.

The present marble temple, rebuilt in 1987, rises 57 metres in the Nagara style. On Rama Navami the queue for darshan can stretch for more than a kilometre, and Hanuman Jayanti is also celebrated with great devotion.

Mahavir Mandir is known for its social work. The temple trust runs the Mahavir Cancer Institute, Vatsalya Hospital and Arogya Hospital, publishes the magazine Dharmayan, and in 2019 started Ram Rasoi, a free food service. In 1993 the temple appointed a Dalit priest, Suryavanshi Das — a landmark step at the time. It is managed by the Shri Mahavir Sthan Nyas Samiti, long led by Acharya Kishore Kunal, and is among the wealthiest temples in North India.

History

A 1948 judgement of the Patna High Court held that the temple had existed 'since time immemorial'; tradition credits its establishment around 1730 to Swami Balanand of the Ramanandi sect. It grew in popularity after 1947, when Hindu refugees from Partition settled in Patna. The temple was later rebuilt in concrete and, in 1987, reconstructed in marble in its present form.