Dharmasthala

Dharmasthala() (earlier known as Kuduma) is an Indian temple town on the banks of the Nethravathi River in the Belthangady taluk of the Dakshina Kannada district in Karnataka, India. The town is known for its centuries old Dharmasthala Temple devoted to the Hindu god Manjunatha. There are other temples and shrines that are dedicated to Ammanavaru, Chandranath and the Dharma Daivas (guardian spirits of Dharma) — Kalarahu, Kalarkayi, Kumaraswamy and Kanyakumari. The temple is unusual in that it is a Hindu temple run by a Jain administration and poojas are conducted by Hindu priests who subscribe to the Vaishnava ideologies. Most Shiva temple are run by Shaivas as opposed to the Madhava Bhramins who are devotees of Vishnu and his avatars. On average the temple attracts around 10,000 pilgrims a day. Local legend says that the Shiva Linga was brought to Dharmasthala by Annappa who is believed to have worked for the Dharmasthala Heggade family. Annappa is thought to have installed the Shiva Linga after his master expressed his interest in offering his services to lord shiva. The Shiva Linga which was installed over night by Annappa not far from the Heggade household was alleged to be moved from the Kadri Temple, after which Annappa is said to have disappeared. 800 years ago, Dharmasthala was known as Kuduma (ಕುಡುಮ) in Mallarmadi, then a village in Belthangady (ಬೆಳ್ತಂಗಡಿ). Here lived the Jain chieftain Birmanna Pergade and his wife Ammu Ballathi in a house called Nelliadi Beedu. Pergade and the local chieftains built several shrines and invited Brahmin priests to perform the rituals. These priests requested Pergade to install a Shivalinga beside the native Daivas. The Daivas then sent their vassal Annappa Swamy to procure the linga of Lord Manjunatheshwara (ಶ್ರೀ ಮಂಜುನಾಥೇಶ್ವರ ಸ್ವಾಮಿ) from Kadri, near Mangalore. Subsequently, the Manjunatha temple was built around the linga. Around the 16th century, Shri Devaraja Heggade invited Shri Vadiraja Swami of Udupi to visit the place.