Venur instead of being a small town once used to be a great center of Jainism. The town was the capital of the Ajila Dynasty. The most popular among the rulers of this dynasty was Thimmanna Ajila. He constructed a colossus of Gommateshwara which was 35 feet high in 1604 AD. Venur colossus is the one with the lowest height of all the three Gommateshwaras within the radius of 250 kilometers.
The 35 high colossus of Gommateshwara (Lord Bahubali) has been erected in Venur on a raised pedestal and there is no support. It is a marvelous piece of art. The features are well carved and are quite proportionate.
The temple in Venur is a kind of Digamber temple.
There are seven amazing temples in Venur. You must see the following whenever you go to this town:
- idol of Lord Chandraprabhu carved in flat rock installed in Akkangala Basadi
- in Binnani Basadi a beautiful bronze idol of Lord Shantinath Swami
- Shri Shantinath Temple with the principal deity Lord Parsvanath.
- three storied magnificent temple of Shantinath Swami.
- The idol of Bhagwan Shantinath which is carved on a Black rock 5 feet in height.
- 24 Teerthankar Temple in the right part of Shri Shantinath Temple with 24 idols of Teerthankars on rocks.
- a small temple of Bhagwan Adinath
Venur is linked by roads from Mangalore, Udupi and Belthangadi. Local buses and taxis also operates.
