Veerendre Heggade

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.^[1] 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.^[2] He was awarded the Karnataka Ratna award for the year 2009, the highest civilian award in Karnataka.^[3]

On July 6, 2022, he was nominated as Rajya Sabha member by President Ram Nath Kovind.^[4]