Venur or Venoor is a small village on the banks of the Phalguni river in

Belthangady Taluk Belthangady is a town panchayat and the headquarters of Belthangady taluk of the Dakshina Kannada (South Canara) district of Karnataka state in India. Demographics In 2001 in the town of Belthangady, 11% of the population was under 6 years o ...

, Dakshina Kannada of

Karnataka Karnataka (; ISO: , , also known as Karunāḍu) is a state in the southwestern region of India. It was formed on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act. Originally known as Mysore State , it was renamed ''Karnat ...

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

. It was once the seat of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle bein ...

and the capital of the

Ajila Ajila is a common surname of the Bunt people, the landed gentry of Tulu Nadu region in the south west of India. It is also the name of the Jain Bunt Dynasty who ruled the principality of Venur for several centuries(1154 to 1786 C.E). The most not ...

Dynasty. It is on the

Dharmasthala Dharmasthala (earlier known as Kuduma) is an Indian temple town on the banks of the Nethravathi River in the Belthangady taluk of the Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, India. The town is known for its centuries old Dharmasthala Te ...

Moodabidri Moodabidri ( kn, ಮೂಡುಬಿದಿರೆ ''Mūḍubidire''; also called Mudbidri, Moodbidre and Bedra), is a town and taluk in Dakshina Kannada district. It lies 34 km northeast of the district headquarters, Mangalore, in Karna ...

Karkala ''Karkala'' also known as Karla in Tulu language, is a town and the headquarters of Karkala taluk in the Udupi district of Karnataka, India. Located about 60 km from Mangalore in the Tulu Nadu region of the state,it lies near the foothill ...

route on the coastal religious circuit in the

State of

Ajila Dynasty

Venur is a small town in Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka state situated on the bank of river Phalguni. Venur, though a small town, was once a great seat of Jainism. It was the capital of the

Dynasty and one of the most prominent Kings of then Thimmanna Ajila built a colossus of

Gommateshwara The Gommateshwara statue is a high monolithic statue on Vindhyagiri Hill in the town of Shravanbelagola in the Indian state of Karnataka. Carved of a single block of granite, it is one of the tallest monolithic statues in the world second on ...

38 feet high in 1604 AD. He was a direct descendant of Chamundaraya, who built one at

Shravanabelagola Shravanabelagola () is a town located near Channarayapatna of Hassan district in the Indian state of Karnataka and is from Bengaluru. The Gommateshwara Bahubali statue at Shravanabelagola is one of the most important tirthas (pilgrimage de ...

. Venur colossus is the shortest of all the three Gommateshwaras within the radius of around it. It also stands in an enclosure, on the same pattern as that of Shravanabelagola. The Kings of

Dynasty ruled here from 1154 AD to 1786 AD. The current descendant of the Ajila Dynasty is Thimmnnarasa Dr. Padmaprasad Ajila.

Bahubali Statue

Venur's claim to fame is the monolith of Bhagawan

Bahubali Bahubali (), a much revered figure among Jains, was the son of Rishabadeva (the first ''tirthankara'' of Jainism) and the brother of Bharata Chakravartin. He is said to have meditated motionless for a year in a standing posture (''kayotsarg ...

also known as Lord

Gomateshwara Bahubali (), a much revered figure among Jains, was the son of Rishabadeva (the first ''tirthankara'' of Jainism) and the brother of Bharata Chakravartin. He is said to have meditated motionless for a year in a standing posture (''kayotsarg ...

. The single rock statue is in height and was erected by the

Jain Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current time cycle being ...

ruler Timmanna

in the year 1604. The statue is supposed to have been sculptured by Beeru kalkuda. The statue stands facing westward on a high platform on the banks of the river Phalguni. This statue of Bahubali is one of the five giant monoliths (of the same Jain monk) found in Karnataka, which are more than in height. (the others being at

, and Gommatagiri).

Mahamastakabhisheka

The last

mahamastakabhisheka The ''Mahamastakabhisheka'' ("Grand Consecration", "The Great Indian Festival") refers to the '' abhiṣeka'' (anointment) of the Jain images when held on a large scale. The most famous of such consecrations is the anointment of the Bahubali ...

or the head anointing ceremony of the statue (typical of all the four Bahubali statues) was held in the year 2000. The second mahamastakabhisheka of this century will be held from 28 January 2012 to 5 February 2012 under the guidance of Acharya Vidyananda. It will be inaugurated by D.V.Sadananda Gowda, Chief Minister of

Temples at Venur

* Mahalingeshwara temple, Venur * A yyappa swami temple, venur * shri rama mandira, rama nagar, venur * Akkangala Basadi or Eda Basadi - Timmanajila's first wife Padyakka Devi or Vardhamanakka built this temple with Lord Chandranatha as the main deity. * Binnani Basadi or Bala Basadi - The second wife Parshwandevi or Binnani built the Shanthishwara Basadi called as Bala Basadi to the right of Bahubali idol. * Parshwanatha Swamy Basadi - Records indicate that the renovation of this temple was carried out in the year 1936 by Swasti Sri Charukeerthi Bhattarakha Swamiji of the Moodabidri Jain Mutt. * Kallu Basadi or Dodda Basadi or Shanthinatha Basadi * Adinatha Basadi - This Basadi is situated to the left of Kallu Basadi. It has an idol of Lord Adinatha in padmasana as the main deity. * 24 Tirthankara Basadi/Ammanavara Basadi - An inscription found to the right of this temple mentions that it was built in 1537. * Vardhamana Swamy Basadi Muhiyuddin Juma Masjid and Darga Shareef Venoor Venoor is a place where religious harmony can be seen. The Muhiyuddeen masjid is located on the bank of the Phalguni river and it is too close to venoor bridge. The Darga shareef of Sayyid Valiyullahi is also located near to Masjid where thousands of people visit every month.

Reaching Venur

Venur lies along the Dharmasthala Moodabidri Karkala route in the Belathangady taluk of Dakshina Kannada District. It is situated at a distance of 20 km from Moodabidri and 30 km from Dharmasthala. It has good approach roads from Mangalore, Dharmasthala, Moodabidri, Karkala and many other important places in Karnataka. The nearest railway stations are Mangalore and Udupi. The nearest airport is at Mangalore.

Accommodation

Venur is a small town with only one lodge as far as accommodation is concerned. People visiting the place should make arrangements at nearby places such as

and

Mangalore Mangalore (), officially known as Mangaluru, is a major port city of the Indian state of Karnataka. It is located between the Arabian Sea and the Western Ghats about west of Bangalore, the state capital, 20 km north of Karnataka–Ke ...

. As of 2015, the Government of Karnataka has built a new Yathri Nivas (traveller's accommodation). There are 3 double rooms and 5 single rooms. Also, built is a small dormitory and a hall where 50 people can be accommodated. Additionally, in the adjoining compound there are 10 bedrooms.

References

External links

*https://web.archive.org/web/20120110170040/http://www.venur.in/ *https://web.archive.org/web/20150402155942/http://www.jainheritagecentres.com/index.php/news/news-updates/916-venur-mahamasthakabhisheka *https://web.archive.org/web/20160315160113/http://jainheritagecentres.com/downloads/documents/Religious_Conferences_%26_Cultural_Programmes-English_Invitation.pdf *http://www.deccanherald.com/content/202516/beauty-surrounds-monolith-venur.html

{{Jainism topics Villages in Dakshina Kannada district Jain temples in Karnataka 17th-century Jain temples Colossal Jain statues in India