Shri D. Veerendra Heggade (born November 25, 1948) is the eldest son of Shri Ratnavarma Heggade and Smt.Rathnamma Heggade. The mantle of Heggadeship fell on the shoulders of Shri Veerendra Heggade at the age of 20, on October 24, 1968 when he became the 21st Dharmadikari of Shri Shetra Dharmasthala.

Shri Veerendra Heggade’s first major act since he became Dharmadhikari was to realise his father’s dream by accomplishing the carving and installation of the 39 ft., 170 ton Bahubali statue at Dharmastala.

In 1993 during silver jubilee celebrations of his Patthabhisheka Dr. Shankar Dayal Sharma, the then President of India, called Veerendra Heggade Rajarshi. He was conferred the prestigious "Padma Bhushan" award instituted by the Govt. of India from President K R Narayanan in the year 2000 for his social service. The award has been for his services in the fields of education, religion and social welfare.

Family

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He is married to Smt Hemavathi Heggade and has a daughter by name Shraddha.

He has 3 brothers which includes Shri Harshendra Kumar

Mahanadavali

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Under the leadership of Dr. Heggade, Dharmasthala witnessed the first Mahanadavali of this millennium during February 2005.

References

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Sri Manjunatheshwara Temple
Jain World
Mangalore.com
Deekay Pages

1948 births | Living people | Indian people | Padma Bhushan awardees | Jains