Mahavir Mandir at Patna quietly, steadfastly, rose to become a bastion of social and healthcare service under the aegis of the Shri Mahavir Sthan Nyas Samiti. It is both a tribute to the legacy of my father, Padma Shri Acharya Kishore Kunal, and a declaration of an onward journey - one which I now embrace, with humility, resolve and faith.. It is both a tribute to the legacy of my father, Padma Shri Acharya Kishore Kunal, and a declaration of an onward journey - one which I now embrace, with humility, resolve and faith.
Situated beside the busy Patna Junction, the venerable Mahavir Mandir has, for generations, been a place of refuge for pilgrims and seekers alike. Shri Mahavir Sthan Nyas Samiti, established and registered under the Trust and Religious Boards, took on a responsibility far beyond the physical maintenance of the temple: it embraced a vision of service to society as a living expression of spiritual purpose.
My father believed that a temple's true sanctity is measured not only by the devotion within its walls, but by the care it extends beyond into the lives of the poor, the sick, the helpless. Thus, over time, the Samiti charted an ambitious path: building hospitals, health institutes, social-welfare programmes and institutions which reflect the dignity of each human life.
Perhaps the most visible embodiment of the Samiti's and my father's vision is the Mahavir Cancer Sansthan & Research Centre (MCS) at Patna. Founded in December 1998 with the full support of the Mandir Trust and under the guidance of Acharya Kishore Kunal, this centre has grown in infrastructure, in outreach and in hope. At a time when access to specialised oncology care in Eastern India was limited, MCS stood as a beacon of change.
Alongside MCS, the Samiti operates other hospitals under the Mahavir flag, including Mahavir Arogya Sansthan, Mahavir Vatsalya Hospital, Mahavir Heart Hospital, Mahavir Netralaya, Mahavir Senior Citizen Hospital, Mahavir Vishalnath Hospital, and hospice and palliative-care services. These diversified services speak of a continuum of care: from curative to preventive, from the frail elderly to the youngest and most vulnerable.
Importantly, the Samiti's legal objects include the establishment of hospitals, clinics, dispensaries, homes for the handicapped and rehabilitation centres. This is not incidental: it is deliberate, rooted in the belief that spiritual trust must be expressed through social upliftment. However, healthcare is only one dimension of service. Under the Samiti's umbrella, the temple fund has been channelled into myriad acts of compassion: homes for orphans, care for the differently-abled, rehabilitation of flood- affected families, matrimonial assistance for the under-privileged, awareness programmes, old-age care and more.
What unites the temple and the social mission is the conviction that service itself is sacred. Shri Mahavir Sthan Nyas Samiti does not treat its hospitals and welfare institutions as separate from the Mandir's spiritual mission; rather, they are its living expression. The temple's rituals, the devotees' prayers, and the trust's endowments converge into one greater purpose: the dignity of each life.
My father embodied this synthesis. His background in public service, his leadership of the Bihar State Religious Trusts Board, his deep scholarship all fed into a unique approach: tradition informed by equity; faith underpinned by governance; service anchored in accountability.
It is fitting, then, that this coffee-table book be titled 'The Sanctum of Service. This volume invites you to see the Mandir not just as a place of pilgrimage, but as a sanctuary of giving; the Nyas Samiti not just as trust managers, but as custodians of hope; the photographs, profiles and narratives within, as a testament to the fact that the holy and the humane can, and must, walk hand in hand. May this book move you. May it stir your belief that places of worship can be places of healing; that charitable trusts can be engines of social equity; that the legacy of one man - Padma Shri Acharya Kishore Kunal - can seed a movement of many for centuries.
May this book move you. May it stir your belief that places of worship can be places of healing; that charitable trusts can be engines of social equity; that the legacy of one man - Padma Shri Acharya Kishore Kunal - can seed a movement of many for centuries.
And may you join us in that movement. Because the Mandir is not just ours, the Samiti not just ours they belong to the community, to every one of us. If each one gives in whatever way they can, then together, we will fulfil the promise: that in the sanctum of service, all are cared for, all are honoured, and all are loved.
My father often said: "Shraddha (faith) without seva (service) is incomplete; seva without shraddha loses its soul." It is this conviction that guides me today. With faith renewed, with commitment undimmed, I step forward to carry this torch. And I invite you to walk with us.
Thank you.
Saayan Kunal
Secretary, Shri Mahavir Sthan Nyas Samiti