Shri Kshetra Dharmasthala (Shri Manjunatha Swamy Temple)

The story

About 800 years ago this place was called Kuduma. A Jain chieftain, Birmanna Pergade, made his home here with his wife Ammu Ballalthi in their house, Nelliadi Beedu, and the couple were known for their kindness to every guest. Tradition says the guardian spirits of dharma, the Dharma Daivas, came to their home in human form. The couple welcomed them with full respect. That night the Daivas appeared in Pergade's dream and asked him to give up the house for their worship and devote his life to spreading dharma. Without a single question, Pergade moved into a new house that he built for himself, and the old house became a place of worship for the Daivas; that worship goes on even today. Later, at the Daivas' word, separate shrines were built for the four Dharma Daivas. The priests invited for the rituals asked that a Shivling also be installed. So the Daivas sent their attendant Annappa Swamy, who brought the linga of Lord Manjunatha from Kadri near Mangaluru, and the temple was built around it. In the 16th century, at the invitation of Devaraja Heggade, Sri Vadiraja Swami of Udupi came here. He re-consecrated the linga with Vedic rites and, pleased by the charity he saw, named the place Dharmasthala.