Dharmasthala Veerendra Heggade (born 25 November 1948) is an Indian (so-called) philanthropist and the hereditary administrator of the Hindu

Dharmasthala Temple Dharmasthala Temple () is an 800-year-old Hindu religious institution in the temple town of Dharmasthala in Dakshina Kannada, Karnataka, India. The deities of the temple are Hindu god Shiva, who is referred to as Mañjunatha, Hindu goddess Amma ...

in the Indian state of Karnataka. He succeeded to the post at the age of 19, on 24 October 1968, the 21st in his line. He administers the temple and its properties, which are held in trust. He is a nominated Member of Parliament in the

Rajya Sabha Rajya Sabha (Council of States) is the upper house of the Parliament of India and functions as the institutional representation of India’s federal units — the states and union territories.https://rajyasabha.nic.in/ It is a key component o ...

since July 2022. He was awarded the

Karnataka Ratna The Karnataka Ratna is the highest civilian honour of the State of Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 ...

award for the year 2009, the highest civilian award in

Karnataka Karnataka ( ) is a States and union territories of India, state in the southwestern region of India. It was Unification of Karnataka, formed as Mysore State on 1 November 1956, with the passage of the States Reorganisation Act, 1956, States Re ...

. On 6 July 2022 he was nominated as

member by President

Ram Nath Kovind Ram Nath Kovind ( ; born 1 October 1945) is an Indian politician and lawyer who served as the president of India from 2017 to 2022. He is the first person from Uttar Pradesh to serve as the president. He is a member of the Bharatiya Janata Pa ...

Personal life

Heggade was born the eldest son of Dharmadhikari

Ratnavarma Heggade Dharmasthala Ratnavarma Heggade was an Indian philanthropist, educationist and legislator who is best known for being the hereditary administrator (Dharmadhikari) of the Dharmasthala Manjunatha Temple from 1955 to 1968. Early life Born in a ...

and Rathnamma Heggade (née Shetty). He belongs to the Pergade dynasty of Tulu

Jain Bunt The Jain Bunt are the Jains of Bunt caste from Tulunaad area of India. They have a feudal and martial race heritages, because of ties to the erstwhile royalty of the area. They are classified as Other Backward Class (OBC) by the Governm ...

lineage, the hereditary trustees of the Sri

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

Manjunatha Swamy temple in

Dakshina Kannada Dakshina Kannada district is located in the states and territories of India, state of Karnataka in India, with its headquarters in the coastal city of Mangaluru. The district covers an area nestled in between the Western Ghats to its east and the ...

district of

. The family are trustees of a

Hindu Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...

temple, although the family belong to the

Digambara ''Digambara'' (; "sky-clad") is one of the two major Jain schools and branches, schools of Jainism, the other being ''Śvetāmbara'' (white-clad). The Sanskrit word ''Digambara'' means "sky-clad", referring to their traditional monastic pract ...

Jain community.

Work

He runs the Annapoorna kitchen at Dharmasthala, which is one of the largest and oldest family-run kitchens in India. The kitchen feeds around 50,000 persons every day. It was featured on the National Geographic TV show, "Mega Kitchens". He is the President of SDM Educational Society, Ujire, which manages educational institutions from primary to engineering, medical, ayurvedic and management institutes as well as hospitals.

Awards and honours

Padma Bhushan The Padma Bhushan (IAST: ''Padma Bhūṣaṇa'', lit. 'Lotus Decoration') is the third-highest civilian award in the Republic of India, preceded by the Bharat Ratna and the Padma Vibhushan and followed by the Padma Shri. Instituted on 2 Januar ...

Award (2000) for social work and Communal Harmony (India's third-highest civilian award) * Rajarshi title from President of India, Dr.

Shankar Dayal Sharma Shankar Dayal Sharma (; 19 August 1918 – 26 December 1999) was an Indian lawyer and politician who served as the President of India from 1992 to 1997. Born in Bhopal, Sharma studied at Agra, Allahabad and Lucknow and received a doctorate i ...

, in 1993 * The State Government selected Heggade for

title for 2009. *

P. V. Narasimha Rao Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao (28 June 1921 – 23 December 2004) was an Indian independence activist, lawyer, and statesman from the Indian National Congress who served as the prime minister of India from 1991 to 1996. He was the first p ...

, former Prime Minister of India presented

Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry A federation (also called a federal state) is an entity characterized by a political union, union of partially federated state, self-governing provinces, states, or other regions under a #Federal governments, federal government (federalism) ...

award for Rural Development activities in

Belthangady Belthangady is a town panchayat and the headquarters of Belthangady taluk of the Dakshina Kannada (South Canara) district of Karnataka state in India India, officially the Republic of India, is a country in South Asia. It is the ...

Taluk by Shri Kshethra Dharmasthala Rural Development Project (SKDRDP) on 12 May 1995. *

Atal Bihari Vajpayee Atal Bihari Vajpayee (25 December 1924 – 16 August 2018) was an Indian poet, writer and statesman who served as the prime minister of India, first for a term of 13 days in 1996, then for a period of 13 months from 1998 ...

, former Prime Minister of India presented

award for Rural Development & Self Employment activities by RUDSET Institute on 20 November 1999. * "Vatika Varshada Kannadiga – 2004" by

ETV Kannada Colors Kannada (previously known as ETV Kannada), is an Indian Kannada language general entertainment channel, owned by JioStar, a joint venture between Viacom18 and Disney India. It primarily telecasts programs such as serials, reality shows ...

at Hassan on 20 November 2004 *

Padma Vibhushan The Padma Vibhushan ( , lit. "Lotus Grandeur") is the second-highest civilian award of the Republic of India, after the Bharat Ratna. Instituted on 2 January 1954, the award is given for "exceptional and distinguished service". All persons w ...

(2015) by the Government of India for social work * Sri Bhagavan Mahaveera Peace Award by

Government of Karnataka The Government of Karnataka, abbreviated as GoK or GoKA, formerly known as Government of Mysore (1956–1974), is a democratically elected state body with the governor as the ceremonial head to govern the Southwest Indian state of Karnataka ...

Controversies

Sowjanya Murder Case

Sowjanya, a 17-year-old student, was raped and murdered in

in 2012, and the case remains unresolved, with the accused acquitted in 2023 due to lack of evidence. Activists and the victim's family accuse influential figures, possibly connected to Heggade, of shielding the real culprits. Additionally, reports highlight around 462 unnatural deaths in Dharmasthala over 10 years (up to 2013), suggesting a pattern of systemic issues. In response, Heggade has stated that the name of

is being tarnished by those opposing its progress and has emphasized his commitment to serving the community despite facing criticism.The News Minute
"Name of Dharmasthala being misused, says Veerendra Heggade"

References

External links

Official website
* http://www.newskarnataka.com/mangalore/dr-veerendra-heggade-to-share-stage-with-pm-on-world-yoga-day {{DEFAULTSORT:Heggade, Veerendra Living people Indian philanthropists Recipients of the Padma Bhushan in social work 20th-century Indian Jains People from Dakshina Kannada district Mangaloreans Tulu people 1948 births Recipients of the Karnataka Ratna Recipients of the Padma Vibhushan in social work Heggade family 21st-century Indian Jains Social workers from Karnataka Nominated members of the Rajya Sabha