Benaulim is a village in the state of Goa, India. Located in Salcete taluka of South Goa district, it neighbours Colva village to the north, Margao in the northeast and Varca village to the south. During Portuguese rule, it was one of the nine communidades in Salcete. Benaulim is the birthplace of St Joseph Vaz, who was a priest and missionary in Sri Lanka. Benaulim is home to several traditional carpenters, and has long been known as Goa's 'village of carpenters'. Contemporary Benaulim is a popular seaside resort, renowned for its beautiful rice fields, balmy weather and golden sand beaches. It also houses Goa's only Don Bosco Animation Centre. There are two big churches in Benaulim. The Holy Trinity Church in Mazilvaddo is a modern church built over the centuries-old chapel of the Loiola Pereira family. The St John the Baptist Church in Povacao area closer to Colva, is where St Joseph Vaz was baptised. In 2016, Benaulim hosted the 8th BRICS Summit. Etymology The village was known as Banahalli or Banawali (the village of the arrow) before the advent of the Portuguese. Ban is the Sanskrit word for 'arrow' and Halli the Kannada word for 'village'. According to the Sahyadrikhanda of the Skanda Purana, Lord Parashurama shot his arrow into the sea and commanded the sea god Varuna recede up to the point where his arrow landed. The arrow is said to have landed at Banahalli. The area was then settled by Goud Saraswat Brahmins from northern India. History Ancient Banahalli was the site of the Katyayani Baneshvar temple dedicated to the Hindu deities Shiva and Parvati. The temple ruins can be still found in the village. The deities were shifted to Aversa in North Canara (modern Uttara Kannada district) in the sixteenth century. The tall type coconut cultivar, 'Banawali Green Round', the landrace of Benaulim, was selected and released as 'Pratap' in 1987 for cultivation in coastal Maharashtra by the Konkan Krishi Vidyapeeth, Dapoli owing to its superior morphological and fruiting characteristics and high yielding nature. Geography Benaulim is located at . It has an average elevation of . Demographics Benaulim has population of 11,919 of which 5,818 are males and 6,101 are females, as per Census of India 2011. Child population within the age group of 0-6 is 1,235 which is 10.36% of total population. Female sex ratio is 1,049 against the Goa state average of 973.