Acharya Kishore Kunal

Kishore Kunal is a retired IPS Officer and Sanskrit scholar from the state of Bihar, India. He was the chairman of the Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts. Kunal is also secretary of the Mahaveer Temple Trust, Patna, and previously of Mahavir Arogya Sansthan, in which capacity he was involved with the promotion of healthcare for the poor. He is also the founder of a prestigious school called Gyan Niketan in Patna.

Acharya Kishore Kunal has always led by example. As chairman of Bihar State Board of Religious Trusts, he has launched a campaign to root out corruption from religious places in the state. While on one hand he has appointed Dalit priests in Mahavir Mandir, on the other hand, he has raised his voice against encroachment on government land by religious bodies.

In 2008 he received the Bhagwaan Mahaveer Award for his contribution to community and social services. The award, presented to Kunal by the President of India Pratibha Patil, is instituted by the Bhagwan Mahaveer Foundation, Chennai. Acharya Kunal is the first individual from Bihar-Jharkhand to get this award. His selection was made by a jury headed by Justice Shri M. N. Venkatachaliah, former Chief Justice of India.

Under the secretaryship of Acharya Kunal, renovation work of Mahavir Temple started on 30 October 1983, and it was inaugurated on 4 March 1985. Governor R S Gavai on Monday said Mahavir Temple is an ideal religious trust and it should be emulated by other trusts in the country. Mahavir Trust later set up Mahavir Cancer Sansthan. The Samiti also runs another hospital, Mahavir Arogya Sansthan, at Kankerbagh, and on its premises Mahavir Netralaya has been set up which caters to the needs of those suffering from eye problems. The temple has already established four big hospitals and provides financial help to the needy people.

He is involved in the uplift of Mundeshwari Bhawani Mandir, the 'oldest' surviving temple in the eastern region belonging to Gupta Age (AD 343) and located in Kaimur hills. The temple site will also be developed into a fullfledged pilgrim centre, just like Vaishno Devi temple, with a number of amenities like dormitory, rest rooms, kitchens and efficient transportation system. As part of the temple's development plans, a 'vivah' mandap is under construction in over two-and-a-half acres.< He is penning a historical novel titled 'Mahima Mundeshwari Maa Ki'. Recently, a 185-page book 'Mundeshwari Mandir: The Oldest Recorded Temple in the Country', also written by him, was released.

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