A three-day National Jain Culture and Heritage Festival began at Moodbidri on Sunday.
Organised by Bharatvarshiya Digamber Jain Teerthkshetra Committee, Mumbai, in association with Dhavalatraya Jainakashi Trust, Moodbidri, the three events would have seminars and cultural events on the premises of Tribhuvana Tilaka Choodamani Basadi, also called Thousand-Pillar Basadi.
Addressing a gathering at the inaugural session, seer of Jain Math, Moodbidri, Charukeerti Bhattaraka Panditacharyavarya, said the math had prepared a Rs. 2-crore project for the renovation and conservation of 18 Jain temples in Moodbidri and its surrounding areas. He sought the cooperation of the committee to make the project a success.
D. Veerendra Heggade, dharmadhikari of Shree Kshetra Dharmasthala, who inaugurated the festival, said the State government had given Rs. 8 crore for the renovation and protection of Jain temples in the State in the past four years.
Shubhachandra Jain, a retired professor from the Department of Jainology, Mysore University, spoke on the guru tradition of Moodbidri.
