Mahavir Mandir Patna is a well-known Hanuman temple close to Patna Junction railway station, the main train station of Bihar's capital. It draws very large crowds, runs through a public trust, and is linked to a group of charity hospitals. This guide explains where it is, what is documented about its history, how the trust is described, and what a visitor should check before going.
We also use the temple as an example of how a large temple trust can work in practice. That is useful context for readers who follow the debate about temples and money in Bihar. A note on sources: we tried to read the trust's own website, but its security check blocked us. So we rely on the Government of India's tourism portal, the Patna district website, a local news report and Wikipedia. We say clearly where accounts differ.
Key takeaways
- Mahavir Mandir is a temple of Hanuman near Patna Junction. The Incredible India portal also lists Patna Junction as the nearest railway station.
- Accounts of its start differ. The Incredible India portal says Swami Balanand of the Ramanandi sect founded it in 1730. A 1948 Patna High Court judgment, as summarised by Wikipedia, says it has existed "since time immemorial".
- The temple is run by a public trust. Wikipedia names it as Shri Mahavir Sthan Nyas Samiti. Acharya Kishore Kunal was its best-known secretary until his death on 29 December 2024.
- The trust runs several hospitals, including a cancer institute. Reports differ on the exact number.
- Opening hours and queue rules change. Always confirm them with the temple before you travel.
What is Mahavir Mandir in Patna?
It is a Hindu temple dedicated to Hanuman, the devotee of Lord Rama. The Incredible India portal calls it the Manokamna Temple, because devotees believe their sincere wishes are heard here. Wikipedia says the main idol is of Hanuman in his Sankat Mochan form, which means the one who removes troubles.
The Incredible India portal describes the building like this. The ground floor has two main Hanuman idols, a Shiva area and a courtyard with sweet and book shops. The first floor has life-size idols of deities such as Rama, Krishna and Shiva, and a Ramsetu Shila, a stone linked to the Ram Setu story. The second floor has the Sanskar Mandap, a hall used for ceremonies.
The temple is also famous for its naivedyam, a sweet offering made in the temple kitchen. The Patna district tourism page says this offering is known across the country. Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti are the festivals named in the sources.
Where is Mahavir Mandir and how do you get there?
The Patna district website places the temple near Patna Junction. The Incredible India portal gives the same railway station as the nearest one, and lists Jaiprakash Narayan International Airport as the nearest airport. For most visitors arriving by train, the temple is a short trip from the station. We did not find an official walking time, so use a map app on the day.
| Question | What the sources say | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Nearest railway station | Patna Junction | Incredible India; Patna district website |
| Nearest airport | Jaiprakash Narayan International Airport | Incredible India |
| Opening hours | Not listed on the government pages we read | Check with the temple |
| Main festivals | Ram Navami and Hanuman Jayanti | Incredible India |
What is the history of the temple?
Different sources tell the early story differently, so we give both versions.
The early account
The Incredible India portal says Swami Balanand of the Ramanandi sect established the temple in 1730. Wikipedia says a 1948 Patna High Court judgment held that the temple has existed "since time immemorial", and adds that historical records instead point to Swami Balanand founding it around 1730. We found no original document that proves the 1730 date, so treat it as the traditional account.
The twentieth century
The tourism portal says the temple became a place of refuge for many people after Partition in 1947, and that its fame grew. It says the Patna High Court recognised the temple's historic value in 1948. The portal says growing crowds led to a concrete building, and that in 1987 plans were announced to rebuild it as a marble temple. Wikipedia lists a concrete rebuild in 1947 and a marble rebuild in 1987.
Wikipedia's page on Kishore Kunal adds more dates. It says renovation began on 30 October 1983 and that the temple was inaugurated on 4 March 1985. These dates sit oddly next to the 1987 rebuild given elsewhere. They may describe different stages of work. We could not check them against the trust's own record, so we do not put weight on them.
How is the temple trust run?
This part matters beyond Patna. A public trust is a legal body that holds property for a purpose, here a temple and its charity. Trustees must use the money for that purpose, not for themselves.
According to Wikipedia, the temple is run by Shri Mahavir Sthan Nyas Samiti. Wikipedia names Acharya Kishore Kunal as its secretary. His Wikipedia page says he died on 29 December 2024, aged 74. A local news report on New Year's Day 2025 said the temple management that day was led by Dr. L. B. Singh.
We could not find a public audit, annual report or trust deed in the sources we opened. So we cannot say how many trustees there are, how they are chosen, or how accounts are checked. Wikipedia says the trust has the second-highest budget in North India, after the Vaishno Devi shrine, but that is an unsourced claim on an open encyclopedia, not an audited figure. We do not repeat any income number.
Why this matters: when readers compare temple trusts, the key questions are always the same. Who are the trustees? Who audits the accounts? Are the accounts public? Our explainer on temple trust management in Bihar looks at these questions in more detail.
What social work does the trust report?
The Patna district website says the temple, funded by devotee donations, runs the Mahavir Cancer Institute, Mahavir Arogya Sansthan, Mahavir Netralaya and Mahavir Vatsalya Hospital, and that many patients are treated for a minimal fee. Wikipedia lists a similar set and adds orphanage and medical facilities in rural Bihar.
Wikipedia's page on Kishore Kunal says the trust started the cancer institute in Patna in 1998 and runs nine hospitals, but its list names eight. It also names Mahavir Heart Hospital, Mahavir Senior Citizen Hospital, Mahavir Vishalnath Hospital and Mahavir Hospice and Palliative Care. It says he laid the foundation stone of a children's cancer hospital on 12 December 2024. Because the count differs between pages, we use "several hospitals" and not a number.
| Source | Hospitals it names |
|---|---|
| Patna district website | Mahavir Cancer Institute, Mahavir Arogya Sansthan, Mahavir Netralaya, Mahavir Vatsalya Hospital |
| Wikipedia, Kishore Kunal page | Eight names: cancer, Aarogya, Vatsalya, heart, eye, senior citizen, Vishalnath, and hospice and palliative care (the page says nine) |
Other documented work
- Dalit priest. Wikipedia says that Suryavanshi Das, a Dalit, has served as priest since 13 June 1993. The page adds that three prominent priests publicly supported the decision.
- Free meals. Wikipedia says a free meal service called Ram Rasoi began on 1 December 2019 at the Amawa Mandir complex in Ayodhya, not in Patna, with meals from 11:30 am to 3:00 pm. We could not confirm whether it still runs.
- Magazine. Wikipedia says the trust has published a magazine called Dharmayan since 1990.
Please treat these Wikipedia details as reported, not confirmed. We hope to update this page when the trust's own site can be opened.
What should visitors know before they go?
The best real example we found is a local report on New Year's Day 2025. PatnaPress reported that over 200,000 devotees visited that day. Queues started around 4 am and stretched from the northern entrance past Veer Kunwar Singh Park. The doors opened at 5:15 am after the Jagran Aarti and the temple closed at 11 pm. The report says about 100 private security staff, 50 volunteers, police and magistrates were deployed, CCTV was used, and a live feed of the sanctum was shown on an LED screen for people waiting in line.
That was a peak day, not a normal one. From it we can learn a few useful things:
- Big festivals and New Year bring very long queues. If you want a calmer visit, avoid them.
- Wikipedia says Tuesdays and Saturdays, Hanuman's traditional worship days, also bring long queues.
- Expect checks at the entrance. Large crowds mean security and crowd control.
- Keep phones, bags and valuables to a minimum, and keep an eye on children.
The same report says 10 counters were set up for naivedyam, with about 12,500 kg sold on 1 January 2025. It does not say where the counters stood, so ask at the temple where to buy prasad.
Quick checklist
- Confirm that the temple is open and check the darshan timings.
- Check whether your visit falls on a festival or a Tuesday or Saturday.
- Plan how you will reach the temple from Patna Junction or the airport.
- Dress modestly and be ready to remove footwear.
- Carry only what you need.
What else is worth seeing nearby?
The sources we opened do not list nearby sites for this temple, so we will not invent a walking route. Patna has several other well-known religious places, and we describe them in our guide to temples to visit in Patna. If you are interested in the wider story of religious travel in the state, read about pilgrimage circuits and cultural corridors in Bihar. Our Visiting Patna topic page collects all travel-related explainers in one place.
Many people searching online confuse this temple with other Patna news about temples. We found no link between Mahavir Mandir and the proposed Modi Mandir, which is only a proposal with no chosen site. If that is what you came to read about, see our FAQ page. For more on how money and tourism meet around big temples, see the economy of temple building and tourism.
What we do not know yet
- The trust's own account of its history, since its website did not load for us.
- Current darshan timings and queue rules.
- The exact number of trustees and hospitals, and any audited accounts.
- Whether the Ram Rasoi meal service still runs.
- The exact founding year. The 1730 date is a traditional account.
Common questions
Where is Mahavir Mandir in Patna?
It is near Patna Junction railway station, which both the Patna district website and the Incredible India portal list as the closest station.
Who runs Mahavir Mandir?
A public trust runs it. Wikipedia names it as Shri Mahavir Sthan Nyas Samiti. Acharya Kishore Kunal was its best-known secretary and died on 29 December 2024.
What charity work does the trust do?
It runs several hospitals, including a cancer institute, an eye hospital and others, where many patients pay a small fee, according to the Patna district website. The exact number of hospitals is reported differently.
When is the temple most crowded?
Festivals such as Ram Navami, New Year's Day, and the traditional Hanuman days of Tuesday and Saturday bring the longest queues.
Sources
- Mahavir Mandir, Patna: Incredible India (Ministry of Tourism, Government of India)
- Mahavir Mandir: Patna district website (NIC)
- Mahavir Mandir: Wikipedia
- Kishore Kunal: Wikipedia
- Over 200,000 devotees visit Patna's Mahavir temple for New Year celebrations: PatnaPress
Last checked on 24 October 2026. Spotted a mistake? Tell us through our contact page.