Shri D. Veerendra Heggade was born on 25th November 1948 as the eldest son of Shri Ratnavarma Heggade. The mantle of Heggadeship fell on the young shoulders of Shri Veerendra Heggade at the tender age of 20, on 24th October 1968. When he became the 21st Dharmadikari of Shri Shetra Dharmasthala.

In less than three decades he has not only preserved the essence of the kshetra, but has also achieved remarkable progress in his service to mankind. Shri Veerendra Heggade’s first major act since he became Dharmadhikari was to realise his father’s dream by accomplishing the carving and installation of the 39 ft., 170 ton Bahubali statue at Dharmastala, a feat that carried his heritage to greater heights.

In 1993 during silver jubilee celebrations of his Patthabhisheka Dr Shankar Dayal Sharma, the then President of India, called Veerendra Heggade as 'Rajarshi. He was conferred the prestigious "Padma Bhushan" Award instituted by the Govt. of India from President K R Narayanan in the year 2000 for his multifarious social service. The award has been for his services in the field of education, religion and social welfare.