Venur

Venur or Venoor is a small village on the banks of the Phalguni river in Belthangady Taluk, Dakshina Kannada of Karnataka, India. It was once the seat of Jainism and the capital of the Ajila Dynasty. It is on the Dharmasthala-Moodabidri-Karkala route on the coastal religious circuit in the Karnataka State of India. Venur is a small town in Dakshina Kannada District of Karnataka state situated on the bank of river Phalguni. Venur, though a small town, was once a great seat of Jainism. It was the capital of the Ajila Dynasty and one of the most prominent Kings of then Thimmanna Ajila built a colossus of Gommateshwara 38 feet high in 1604 AD. He was a direct descendant of Chamundaraya, who built one at Shravanabelagola. Venur colossus is the shortest of all the three Gommateshwaras within the radius of around it. It also stands in an enclosure, on the same pattern as that of Shravanabelagola. The Kings of Ajila Dynasty ruled here from 1154 AD to 1786 AD. The current descendant of the Ajila Dynasty is Thimmnnarasa Dr. Padmaprasad Ajila. Venur's claim to fame is the monolith of Bhagawan Bahubali also known as Lord Gomateshwara. The single rock statue is in height and was erected by the Jain ruler Timmanna Ajila in the year 1604. The statue is supposed to have been sculptured by Beeru kalkuda. The statue stands facing westward on a high platform on the banks of the river Phalguni. This statue of Bahubali is one of the five giant monoliths (of the same Jain monk) found in Karnataka, which are more than in height. (the others being at Shravanabelagola, Karkala, Dharmasthala, and Gommatagiri). The last mahamastakabhisheka or the head anointing ceremony of the statue (typical of all the four Bahubali statues) was held in the year 2000. The second mahamastakabhisheka of this century will be held from 28 January 2012 to 5 February 2012 under the guidance of Acharya Vidyananda. It will be inaugurated by D.V.Sadananda Gowda, Chief Minister of Karnataka.