Shrines to Visit at Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala:

Main Temple

• Shri Manjunatheshwara
• Shri Ammanavaru
• Four Dharma Daivas: Kalarahu, Kalarkaayi, Kanyakumari and Kumaraswamy
• Lord Ganapathi
• Lord Annappa

Other shrines

• Maha Ganpathy Temple at Annapoorna Choultry
• Shrine of Annappa Swamy and the abode of Dharma Daivas, Badinade Hill
• The Neliyadi Beedu: The original abode of the Heggades and the Dharma Daivas.
• Shrine of Shri Chandranatha Swamy at Sri Chandranatha Basadi
• The statue of Shri Bahubali at Ratnagiri Hill

Other places to visit at Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala

• Vintage car museum
• Manjusha vastu sangrahalaya (museum)
• Pushpa vatika
• Vasantha Mahal - Cultural Hall

Other places around Dharmasthala:

• Kukke Subrahmanya, is around 60 Kms from Dharmasthala
• Udupi Sri Krishna Temple, Udupi.
• Kateel Durga Parameshwari Temple, Kateel, near Mangalore
• Horanaadu Annapoorneshwari Temple, Chikamagalur District.
• Mangalore

The Legend Bahubali

The presence of Shri Bahubali in Dharmasthala is evidence of the religious tolerance and spirit of oneness that is the quintessence of Dharmasthala.The monolithic statue symbolises total detachment from the material world and the narrow boundary of "isms" that rend the fabric of co-existence.

The Message of Bahubali

Bharatha and Bahubali were the sons of the first Jain Theerthankara, King of Rishabha. On his renunciation of the material world, the King gave Bharatha, his elder son, Ayodhya to rule. To Bhaubali he gave Podanapura. Bharata then acquired the celestial spinning Chakra Ratna, that empowered him to conquer the world.

With his chakra, Bharata set out to conquer the world and almost achieved total sovereignty over it. But when he returned to Ayodhya, the Chakra ceased to spin, indicating that there still was kingdom to be won. And that was Bahubali's Podanapura.

Realising this, Bharatha asked his younger brother Bahubali to accept his supremacy. Bahubali refused, thus infuriating Bharatha. To avoid a bloody war, the two brothers fought each other hand to hand. Bahubali vanquished his arrogant and acquisiting brother and would have killed him, when realization dawned on him suddenly.

This realization brought disillusionment with the world of passion and greed. Bahubali thus handed over his kingdom to Bharatha and renounced the world assuming the role of Digambara to begin penance naked and standing until he gained enlightenment.

The stone sculpture of Lord Bahubali symbolises renunciation, self-control and subjugation of ego as the first step towards salvation. The naked (digambara) form of Bahubali represents the complete victory over earthly desires and needs that hamper spiritual ascent towards divinity.

The Installation of Bahubali at Dharmasthala

Under the aegies of Shri Ratnavarma Heggade, the famed sculptor Shri Renjala Gopal Shenoy began work on the statue of Lord Bahubali in 1967. The 39 foot high statue, carved from a single rock, with a pedestal of 13 feet was completed in 1970 at Karkala.

The devotion of Shri Shenoy to his mission was such that he vowed not to eat salt until the statue was completed. It was Shri Veerendra Heggade who conceived the plan to transport the gigantic monolith, weighing 170 tonnes from Karkala to Dharmasthala - a distance of 64 kilometers. Supported by great public enthusiasm and participation, the statue was transported on a trolley with 64 wheels, driven by three tractors of 250HP over treacherously winding roads.

On arrival at Dharmasthala, the delicate and difficult task of erecting the statue was taken up with great care, so as not to incur any damage. A task mode doubly difficult because of the religious sentiments attached to the statue. The installation was completed on December 25, 1975.

Under the benevolent guidance of 108 Shri Acharya Vidyanandji Maharaj, and with great pomp and reverence the Mahaprathishtapana was conducted on February 3, 1982, followed the next day by the Mahamasthakaabhisheka.

In February 1995, Dharmasthala once again played host to a grand spectacle, the first Mahamasthakaabhisheka of Lord Bahubali since Mahaprathistapana. The air reverbrated to the multitudinous chant of thousands of devotees as the giant monolithic statue of Lord Bahubali was bathed with milk, turmeric, chandana and ashwagandha.

This grand spectacle brought together many Jain Munis and people from all over the country in the common cause of prayer. And looking on, was Matushree Ratnamma, who, with Shri Ratnavarma Heggade, had cherished the fond dream and desire of installing Bahubali's statue at Dharmasthala.

Manjusha Museum

Manjusha museum has a unique collection of heritage objects as well as the artefacts, which were in use till recently in the coastal area.

His love for preserving Indian cultural heritage has yielded a vast collection of Indian stone and metal sculpture, paintings, items of jewellery, objects of worship and utilitarian objects created by the craftsmen of the coastal area. Manjusha Museum is dearer to his heart and this collection is outcome of 35 years of his dedicated effort. His collection does not just stop at the heritage objects but also brings the objects that were part of the scientific development of the country. His keen interest in photography enabled him to acquire the smallest to the largest size of the cameras. Another passionate interest of Dr. Heggade is the Vintage Collection, which draws the attention of people of many countries. This part of the collection provides source material for those who want to conduct research on the various aspects of our civilization.

The Manjusha collection not only gladdens the hearts of the visitors, but also educates them to a great extent. The sight of objects like domestic vessels, ritual objects, toys and games and even manuscripts which are very familiar to them arouse a new awareness amongst the visitors from neighboring places. They get motivated and make up their minds either to donate the antique objects in their possession to Manjusha Museum or to preserve them with care. The entire collection until now has remained carefully protected and is accessible to the pilgrims and scholars alike. Manjusha Museum at Dharmasthala is a veritable treasure house of lovingly preserved pieces of history.

It may be mentioned here with humility and sincerity that the cardinal purpose of bringing together the Indian heritage objects in the collection of Manjusha Museum is to provide divine experience and aesthetic delight to the viewers.

From the knowledge of Art arises divine knowledge,
And such knowledge leads to enlightenment.
This liberation is truly the essence of the knowledge of Art,
He who realises this, attains freedom.

- Vastu Sutra Upanishad.

Ancient temple chariots are yet another portion of our heritage that draw the attention of Shri Heggade. These magnificent juggernauts with their carvings and decorations have often suffered neglect and begun to be looked upon as white elephants. Such temple chariots are brought to Dharmasthala and restored to their original grandeur by dedicated craftsmen so that people may once again admire the beauty of these chariots of the gods.

The ancient scripts are deciphered by scholars and experts and translated into modern languages so that the gems of ancient literature may once again find their true place in Indian literature.

The ancient scripts are deciphered by scholars and experts and translated into modern languages so that the gems of ancient literature may once again find their true place in Indian literature. The Sri Manjunatheshwara Cultural Research Foundation of the Kshethra Dharmasthala has over 5,000 manuscripts of considerable antiquity in Sanskrit, Kannada, Tulu and a couple manuscripts in Prakrit and Tamil. About 2,500 manuscripts in Sanskrit are on Valmiki's Ramayanam, Bhaskaracharya's Jyotisa Siddantha Shiromane. Bana’s Nataka and a host of manuscripts on Upanishads and Sastras. The Section also possesses over 400 Tulu manuscripts including some on Yakshagana prasangas. According to Mr. G. M. Umapati Shastri who is in charge of the Research Foundation there are 160 manuscripts on Yakshagana alone.

A copy of the Holy Bible translated from the Latin Vulgate and edited with notes by the Rev. Geo Leo Haydock and published in the United States in 1609 is among the rare and out-of-print books of the foundation. Sri D. Veerendra Heggade says there is a move to microfilm the entire collection.

In this priceless collection, there is a whole section devoted to an amazing variety of horse drawn carriages and antique cars. Maintained in pristine condition, these vintage beauties are, even today ready to take the road.