Antiquity and deities

Antiquity of the temples of Kasaragode district cannot be determined in terms of age of the idol or structures of the temple. The antiquity of each temple may, therefore, be decided based on legend or history. However, the Department of Census, Government of India identified 15 temples of the district as very ancient having more than two thousand years of age. 36 temples were constructed between 1st and 9th Century AD. Between 10th and 20th Century AD, 509 temples have been constructed. The department could not ascertain the antiquity of 12 temples. 

The deities of Kasargode are mainly Goddess Bhadrakali or Bhagavathy, Lord Vishnu, Lord Siva, Lord Ganapathy, Lord Subramanya, Lord Sastha etc based on various kalpa or sankalpa (concept). Combination of sankalpa such as Sankara-Narayana, Ardha-Nareeswara, Uma-Maheswara, Lakshmy Narayana are also there. The influence of Kannada culture can be seen in the shrines as well as the practice of worship in the northern part of the district. Number of temples based on various sankalpa is given below: