and the legendary Veerendra Heggade              
I have visited a number of educational and medical institutions in Karnataka and Tamil Nadu of South India.

Most of them are beautifully supplementing the work the Government is doing. In 2004, I was invited to inaugurate a wing of the Hospital of the SDM College of Medical Sciences in Dharwad (Karnataka).
The institution had applied for permission to start a medical college which was then pending.It has a beautiful campus.  Neat and clean. Well planned modern infrastructure – and a very good team of doctors.
Almost across the road is a sister institution – the SDM Dental College – older and one of the finest in the country.I received an invitation to visit Dharmasthala and meet Virendra Heggade – the hereditory head of the SDM group.
So I landed in Dharmasthala. A beautiful, historic place, seeped in legend, mythology and religion.In Dharmasthala, I had the rare privilege of personally meeting Virendra Heggade. He even presented me the traditional silk shawl, a garland and a silver coin.

Mythology

About 800 years ago, Dharmasthala was a small village known as Kuduma.
A pious Jain, Birmanna Pergade and his wife, lived in this village in a house called Nelliadi Beedu.
The Pergade family was famous for their generosity and hospitality.One day, disguised as humans, four Devas (Gods) arrived at Pergade’s house in search of a suitable place for propagating Dharma (religion). The Pergade family welcomed the guests.  
The Devas liked the place, explained the purpose of their visit and requested Pergade to vacate Nelliadi Beedu for worship and dedicate his life to the propagation of Dharma.
In return, the Devas promised Pergade protection for his family, abundance of charity and renown for the ‘Kshetra’.Pergade built himself another house and began worshipping the Devas at Nelliadi Beedu.
Later, he brought a Gold Shivalinga from Kadri, a place near Mangalore; and built the Manjunatha temple around the Shivalinga.

History and Administration

The administration of the temple and its assets devolves by heredity. Around the 16th Century, Devaraja Heggade invited Vadiraja Swami of Udupi to visit the temple.
The Swamiji came, but refused to accept food, because the idol of lord Manjunatha had not been consecrated according to Vedic rites.
Devaraja Heggade requested Swamiji to reconsecrate the Shivalinga.
The Swamiji consecrated the idol according to Vedic rites and renamed the place Dharmasthala (place of charity).Manjayya Heggade, the head from 1918 to 1955 – 37 years – was a great scholar and social reformer. He put Dharmasthala on the map of India.

Padma Bhusan Veerendra Heggade

The present head of the institution Veerendra Heggade became the
21st head on 24th October 1968, at the young age of 20.
He is doing a lot of philanthropic work for the public and he has been awarded the Padma Bhushan, one of the highest civilian awards in India.
He is fond of collecting old and antique objects.

The position of the Heggade (Chief)

The position of the Heggade (Head) of Dharmasthala is unique.
There is no parallel anywhere in the world.
He is also called Dharmadikari (custodian of religion).

He is a family man.
He is a divine person  –  representative of Lord Manjunath.                                           
He supervises the four traditional Danas (charities) – Anna Dana (food); Aushada Dana (medicine); Vidya Dana (education); and Abhaya Dana (protection).
He also dispenses justice. All visitors to Dharmasthala are provided free accommodation and food.                                                                                                                     
The kitchen and dining rooms are worth seeing.
During the peak periods, the number of diners swells up to 10,000 per day.
All this involves huge logistics. Procurement. Preparation. Cooking. Serving. Washing utensils, etc.
Many of the processes have been mechanised. And every process is extremely hygienic. There are medical colleges and hospitals dispensing medicine.The 25 educational establishments provide a variety of courses, including schooling, management, law, engineering, ayurveda, naturopathy and medicine. Free mass marriages have been organized from 1973.

Hoyilu – the Judicial Function

Hoyilus, or civil complaint, can be submitted at Dharmasthala by any person.  When such a complaint is received, an intimation is sent to the opposite party who is requested to come to the temple if there is any truth in the complaint.
When both parties appear before the Heggade and present their cases, he gives his verdict which is accepted as law.
This is a unique dispute redressal mechanism.

Bahubali Statue
 
Rathnavarma Heggade commissioned the famous sculpturer, Renjala Gopala Shenoy of Karkala, to carve a statute of Bahubali.
Renjala started the statue in 1967 in Karkala and finished in 1970.
Carved out of a single rock, the statue is 39 feet (12 m) high and 175 tons in weight. Transportation of this huge statue from Karkala to Dharmasthala and its installation on a hill top posed tremendous problems.
The statue was installed on its pedestal on a hillock on 25 December 1975. Manjusha – a museum

The museum Manjusha has a unique collection of rare manuscripts, works of art,  metal and stone statues, paintings and other historical objects.

Vintage Car Museum

This museum contains old horse chariots and a large collection of vintage cars.
Every exhibit is in good running condition.


Reaching thereDharmasthala is about 100 kms from Udupi and about 70 kms from Mangalore.

Recommendation

Located amidst the picturesque Western Ghats on the banks of the Nethravathi River, Dharmasthala is one of the finest temple towns in India.
The temple is unique because it is run by a Jain administrator and poojas are performed by Madhva priests.
And the organization is engaged in a lot of educational and other philanthropic work.