Dharmasthala Temple

Dharmasthala Manjunatha Temple
The Entrance of Dharmasthala Manjunatha Temple
Religion
Affiliation	Hinduism
District	Dakshina Kannada
Location
Location	Dharmasthala
Country	India
Architecture
Creator	Birmanna Pergade

Dharmasthala Manjunatha Temple is an 800 year old Hindu temple located in the temple town of Dharmasthala situated in the Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka, India. The primary deity of the temple is Shiva who is referred to as Manjunatha. Other deities in the temple are Shakti referred to as Ammanavaru and the Dharma Daivas (Guardian Spirits of Dharma) namely Kalarahu, Kalarkayi, Kumaraswamy and Kanyakumari. The temple is considered unique since it belongs to Shaivite sect of Hinduism. The priests of the temple are Shivalli Brahmins who belong to the Vaishnava sect of Hinduism and the administration is run by a Jain Bunt family called the Pergades.

Legend and origin

800 Years ago, Dharmasthala was known as Kuduma in Mallarmadi, then a village in Belthangady. Here lived the Jain Bunt Chieftain Birmanna Pergade and his wife Ammu Ballalthi in a house called Nelliadi Beedu.According to the legend, the guardian angels of Dharma assumed human forms and arrived at Pergade's abode in search of a place where Dharma was being practised and could be continued and propagated. As was their habit, the Pergade couple hosted these illustrious visitors with all their wherewithal, and great respect. Pleased by their sincerity and generosity, that night the Dharma Daivas appeared in the dreams of Pergade. They explained the purpose of their visit to him and instructed him to vacate his house for the worship of the Daivas and dedicate his life to the propagation of Dharma. Asking no questions, the Pergade built himself another house and began worshipping the Daivas at Nelliadi Beedu. This worship of daivas continues.the Dharma Daivas again appeared before the Pergade to build separate shrines to consecrate the four Daivas - Kalarahu, Kalarkayi, Kumaraswamy and Kanyakumari. Also, Pergade was instructed to choose two persons of noble birth to act as the Daivas's oracles and four worthy persons to assist Pergade in his duties as the Executive Head of the Shrines. In return, the Daivas promised Pergade protection for his family, abundance of charity and renown for the ' Kshetra '.Pergade, as desired, built the shrines and invited Brahmin priests to perform the rituals. These priests requested Pergade to also install a Shivalinga beside the native Daivas. The Daivas then sent their vassal Annappa Swamy to procure the lingam of Shiva from kadri, near Mangalore. Subsequently, the Manjunatha temple was built around the linga.

Pergade Family

The Pergade Family is a Jain Bunt family who descend from the creator of the temple Birmanna Pergade and his wife Ammu Ballalthi and are the Hereditary Trustees of the Temple.The eldest male member assumes the position of Dharma Adhikari (Chief Administrator) and uses the Title of Heggade. The Heggade was the Feudal Lord of the Temple Town and solved civil or criminal disputes. This was a judicial function and continues even to this day whereby the Heggade sits in judgement on hundreds of civil complaints, known as hoyulu, each day.About nearly twenty generations of the Pergade family have assumed the Position of Dharma Adhikari .The present Dharma Adhikari is Veerendra Heggade.The partial list of previous Dharma Adhikari 's is as follows

Dharmadhikari No.	Name		From	To
18		Chandayya Heggade		1918 C.E.
19		Manjayya Heggade	1918 C.E.	1955 C.E.
20		Ratnavarma Heggade	1955 C.E.	1968 C.E.
21		Veerendra Heggade	1968 C.E.	Present

External links

• Official Website of Dharmasthala Manjunatha Temple