DHARMASTHALA

To reach Dharmasthala, Mangalore is the nearest airport and railhead, 80 km away from the temple.

Bahubali

It is located on Ratnagiri Betta (also called as Badinede Betta). His Shrine and dwelling place of four Dharma Daivas - Kalarahu, Kalarkayi, Kumaraswamy and Kanyakumari are situated on this hill.
History - The dream of this statue was of late Rathnavarma Heggade which was fulfilled by his son Dharmadhikari Veerendra Heggade. Made under the supervision of renowned sculptor Ranjala Gopala Shenoy, this was erected in Karkala, 72 kms away. The work on the statue began in 1967 and was completed in 1970. The devotion of Shri Shenoy to his mission was such that he vowed not to eat salt until the statue was completed. The statue was brought to Dharmastala by placing it on a special trolley which had 64 wheels and drawn by three bulldozers of 250 horse power capacity. Temporary bridges were constructed with the help of the Railway Department over the rivers on the way. The trolley with the statue started from Karkala on 27-2-1973 and reached Dharmasthala on 19-3-1973. On Febraury 25, 1975 with the help of thousands of people the statue was erected at Bahubali Vihara. Under the benevolent guidance of 108 Shri Acharya Vidyanandji Maharaj, and with great pomp and reverence the Mahaprathishtapana was conducted on February 3, 1982, followed the next day by the Mahamasthakaabhisheka.
Statue - The monolithic statue here is 39 feet in height, carved from a single stone with a pedastal of 13 feet. It weighs more than 210 tons. On either side of this statue we can see two elephants offering water to its feet. Besides the elephant on the right of the statue, there are reliefs of a cow and a tiger, drinking water. This indicates the message of non-violence. On the other side we can see the beautiful statues of a cow calf drinking milk from a tiger and a tiger cub drinking milf from the cow. The statue epitomizes renunciation, self control and subjugation of ego.

VENUR

Venur or Venoor is a small village on the banks of the Gurupur river and belongs to Belthangady taluq. It is on the Dharmasthala-Moodabidri-Karkala route on the costal religious circuit. This place is 52 Kms from Manglore and 32 Kms from Dharamsthala. and 20 Kms from Mudbidri. Guruvayankere is just 15 Kms on highway. It was once the seat of Jainism and the capital of the Ajila Dynasty. The hilly area of Sahyadri Mountains surrounding the place offer a very enchanting natural scenario.

Gommata

Also called Bhagwan Bahubali or Lord Gomateshwara.
History - The area was ruled by the dynasty of Ajilas from 1154 to 1764. Thimmaraja Ajila the fourth, built this statue. He was a direct descendant of Chamundaraya, who built the statue at Shravanabelagola. It is stated that this statue was made 7 Kms from this place at Kalyani. This was erected on the banks of river Gurupura at height of 50 feet from the river bed. The statue is supposed to have been sculptured by Amarashilpi Jakanachari.

The making of this statue led to a war. When Thimmaraja Ahila began working on this statue at Kalyan 7 kms away from Venur, the information reached King Immadi Bhairavaraya of Karkala. The king of Karkala felt that a statue much bigger than at Karkala may dimnish the popularity of his ancestors. Thus he sent letter to Thimmaraja to send the statue to Karkala. The enraged Thimmaraja vowed to install the same at any cost at Venur itself. The King of Karkala went straight into battle.
To protect the statue, Thimmaraja hid the statue beneath the sands on the banks of the River Phalguni. He won the war, and subsequently, had the statue installed at Venur in 1604.
Statue - This 35 feet statue made of black stone is placed on twin lotus seat. On the midriff, one can seen three zones sculpted with a look of natural serenity. The long ears touch the shoulders which along with the legs are covered with branches of leaves. It also stands in an enclosure, on the same pattern as that of Shravanbelgola. The statue stands facing westward on a high platform on the banks of the river Phalguni. Lord Bahubali is standing here on an elevated platform without any support. The features of the statue are nicely made and are in proportion. This statue of Bahubali is one of the four giant monoliths (of the same God) found in Karnataka. The courtyard of this monument is about 7 feet and this idol is visible from miles away. In this courtyard, there are smaller temples - Binnani dedicated to Bhagwan Shantinath and Akkangal (built by sisters) dedicated to Bhagwan chandraprabh.