Mallikarjuna Temple, Canacona

The Mallikarjuna Temple stands in Sristhal village, 7 km north-east of Chaudi in Canacona taluka, South Goa, in a valley ringed by hills. Counted among Goa's oldest shrines, it was built, according to a plaque near its dome, in the mid-16th century by ancestors of the Kshatriya samaj, and refurbished in 1778. The deity, a form of Shiva known locally as Adavat Sinhasanadhishwar Mahapati, is a self-manifested lingam: an uncut cylindrical stone with a metal mask, said to have been found by a Kunbi man clearing forest.

The six pillars of the mandapa carry carved scenes from the Puranas and the Mahabharata, and one serves as an oracle pillar. Worship is shared between Brahmin priests and Kunbi priests of the Velip and Zalmi families. At the annual jatra the deity is carried in a procession of two to three hours to Rajbag beach for a ritual bath, and devotees bathe in the sea at the same time. Shigmo and Rathasaptami are also celebrated.