Venuru Jain Temple

Venur or Venoor is a small village on the banks of the Phalguni river in the South Kanara of Karnataka, India. It was the capital of the Ajila kings who ruled a small part of Tulu-nadu from A.D. 1154 to 1764. During this period, Jainism got a boosting from these rulers.

The greatest attraction of this place is a colossal statue of Gommatesvara (gommaṭēśvara), some 10.2 m high. It was erected in A.D. 1604 by Timma-raya (timma-rāya) of Ajila dynasty. When the king of Karkala came to know of this, he was furious, being afraid that the uniqueness of his city will be lost, if another Gommatesvara comes to existence. So he waged a war with the Ajila king but could not prevail over him. Again, after 30 years, the then-queen of Venuru, Madhu-karikā Rāni, wanted to perform the mahā-mastakābhiṣēka ceremony for the Gommatesvara, to which the king of Karkala objected. But the queen had reconciliation with him, surrendering to him a village of hers and thus succeeded in performing the ceremony.

Venur's claim to fame is the monolith of Bhagawan Bahubali also known as Lord Gomateshwara. The single rock statue is 38 feet in height and was erected by the Jain ruler Timmanna Ajila in the year 1604. The statue is supposed to have been sculptured by Amarashilpi Jakanachari. 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 found in Karnataka, which are more than 20 feet in height.