Veerendra Heggade


Dharmasthala Veerendra Heggade is an Indian philanthropist and the hereditary administrator of the Dharmasthala Temple 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 since July 2022.
He was awarded the Karnataka Ratna award for the year 2009, the highest civilian award in Karnataka.
His tenure at Dharmasthala has been marked by controversy, including unresolved rape and murder cases and allegations of cover-ups by temple officials and his family members.

Personal life

Heggade is the eldest son of Dharmadhikari Ratnavarma Heggade and Rathnamma Heggade. He belongs to the Pergade dynasty of Tulu Jain Bunt lineage, the hereditary trustees of the Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatha Swamy temple in Dakshina Kannada district of Karnataka. The family are trustees of a Hindu temple, although the family belong to the 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

Controversies

Sowjanya Murder Case

Sowjanya, a 17-year-old student, was raped and murdered in Dharmasthala 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, suggesting a pattern of systemic issues.
In response, Heggade has stated that the name of Dharmasthala is being tarnished by those opposing its progress and has emphasized his commitment to serving the community despite facing criticism.

Dharmasthala Mass burial

In July 2025, a former sanitation worker employed by the Dharmasthala temple administration between 1995 and 2014 alleged that he was coerced by influential figures to burn and bury the bodies of hundreds of rape and murder victims at various sites around Dharmasthala. The police registered a case under section 211 of the Bharatiya Nyaya Sanhita and are seeking court permission to exhume the alleged burial sites to verify his claims.
On 19 July 2025, the Karnataka government constituted a Special Investigation Team, headed by DGP Pronab Mohanty, to probe the former sanitation worker’s allegations of secret mass burials at Dharmasthala.
In August 2025, the SIT arrested the same sanitation worker on charges including perjury and furnishing false evidence, a Belthangady court remanded him to 10 days’ police custody while the probe continues.
Around the same time, Veerendra Heggade describing the allegations as “baseless” and “morally wrong,” said he was “deeply hurt,” and stated that Dharmasthala would cooperate fully with a fair, transparent SIT investigation. The Temple authorities likewise issued a statement welcoming such a probe.