Gokarna is a beautiful place on the west coast of Karnataka. It is a very sacred pilgrimage centre, whose antiquity stretches back into Puranic times. It comes in between sahyadri range and Arabian sea and surrounded by hills and two rivers. Mahabaleshwar is the famous temple in Gokarna.The area in and around Gokarna has many Sacred spots and Tirthas. Gokarna is also one of the 108 Devipithas where the mortal remains of Sati Devi, wife of Siva fell down.

Gokarna and the origin of Kerala: As per the legends and folklores the Cultural identity of Kerala extend from Kanyakumarai till Gokarna. Brahmanda Purana gives a story associating Gokarna with the origin of Kerala. Once the temple of Gokarna and the land of Kerala were submerged in waters. The sages who were in the temple somehow escaped and took refuge on the Sahyaparvata. Parasurama was doing penance there then and the sages went to him and told him of their plight. Parasurama went and stood in Gokarna and threw an axe to the south. All the land from Gokarna up to the place where the axe fell rose up from the ocean to form a piece of land which was later named Kerala. Local folklores and Puanas tells that Parasurama donated this land to Brahmins as a penance to killing of his mother Renukadevi.