Kundapur
town

Kundapra, officially Kundapura, is a town and taluka in the Udupi district of Karnataka state in India. This town was known as Coondapoor when it was part of the erstwhile South Canara district (1862–1947) of the Madras Presidency of British India. Present-day Kundapur is administered by the Kundapur Town Municipal Council and serves as the headquarters of eponymous Kundapur taluk in Udupi district.
Etymology
The name Kundapura can be traced to the Kundeshwara Temple built by Kundavarma of the Alupa dynasty who ruled the region in the 10th - 11th century, in the vicinity of the Panchagangavalli River. In Kundagannada language, the word "Kunda" also refers to the flower Jasmine. Where the Majority people of Kundapura grow flower Jasmine in this region which came to be called as kundapura (Land of Jasmine).
History
The history of Kundapur is defined by its strategic position as a maritime gateway and its transition through several major South Indian dynasties.
Ancient and Medieval Periods
During the 10th and 11th centuries, Kundapur flourished under the Alupa dynasty. King Kundavarma of the Alupas is credited with the construction of the Kundeshwara Temple, which became a central landmark for the settlement. The region was later integrated into the Vijayanagara Empire.
The public source identifies “Kundapur” as town. This brief keeps that definition visible, then builds a research path around Kundapur and town.
Why this record matters
A short description can identify a subject without explaining its stakes. For “Kundapur”, the useful work is to connect “town” to the records capable of establishing context and consequence.
Maps, plans, fabric surveys and administrative records can establish how the site’s name, extent and function changed over time. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 20, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q721359. VIAF identifies the subject as 129057114. The Library of Congress control number is n84144306. Authority coordinates are 13.800, 74.700. 5 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 1862 and 1947.
Architectural summaries often privilege surviving fabric and can understate demolished phases, contested use or displaced communities. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
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Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
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Questions for further research
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This entry incorporates text from “Kundapur” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.