Үндістандық қайырымдашы және Дхармастхала ғибадатханасының мұрагер басқарушысы

Indian philanthropist and hereditary administrator of the Dharmasthala Temple

D. Veerendra Heggade (born November 25, 1948) is an Indian philanthropist and the hereditary administrator of the Dharmasthala Temple. He succeeded to the post at the age of 19, on October 24, 1968, the 21st in his line. He administers the temple and its properties, which are held in trust for the benefit of devotees and of Dharma. He is a nominated Member of Parliament in the Rajya Sabha since July 2022. He has received multiple awards for his numerous contributions. He was awarded the Karnataka Ratna award for the year 2009, the highest civilian award in Karnataka. On July 6, 2022, he was nominated as Rajya Sabha member by President Ram Nath Kovind.

Heggade was born the eldest son of Dharmadhikari Ratnavarma Heggade and Rathnamma Heggade (née Shetty). He belongs to the Pergade dynasty of Tulu Jain Bunt Lineage, the hereditary trustees of the famous 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 Digambara Jain community. He has three younger brothers, Harshendra Kumar, Surendra Kumar and Rajendra Kumar, and a sister, Padmalata. He married Hemavathi Heggade in a match arranged by their parents. Veerendra Heggade and Hemavathy Heggadthi are the parents of daughter Shraddha. As the eldest son, Veerendra Heggade succeeded his father as Dharmadhikari. He is the twenty first member of the Pergade dynasty to hold the position of Dharmadhikari of the Dharmasthala Temple. As he has no sons, his heir is his younger brother, Harshendra. Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade is a car collector and photography aficionado. His car collection is on display in Dharmasthala.

He is a patron of art and literature. He publishes a monthly journal named Manjuvani, besides other publications. To propagate Naturopathy, Yoga and Moral Education, 400 teachers of High Schools and Primary Schools train more than 30,000 students every year in Yoga, Moral and Spiritual Education. He contributed to the revival of Yakshagana, maintaining a pure traditional approach. Manjusha is a museum that displays rare collections of antiques and contemporary rare and valuable artefacts. A Vintage Car Museum attached to this museum has vehicles from many nations. 4,000 palm leaf manuscripts are preserved and research on them is conducted by scholars for the "Sri Manjunatheshwara Samskrithi Samshodhana Prathistana".

He introduced a post graduate course at Sri Dharmasthala Manjunatheshwara College, Ujire. He started SDMIMD College Mysore which evolved into a top Business college in India. He started Rathnamanasa, a model hostel with training in Agriculture, Horticulture, Dairying and a concept of future farmers and citizens for high school boys at Ujire. He started Sri Siddavana Gurukula, a model hostel for college students at Ujire to inspire students in agriculture, moral education and training in leadership programs. 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.

Heggade supported preserving Tuluva culture and heritage.