Kadri Manjunatha Temple is a historic temple in Mangalore in the state of Karnataka, India. The incharge and priests in the temple are Madhva Brahmins. History The temple of Manjunatheshwara on the hills of Kadri is said to be built during the 10th or 11th century. It was converted to a complete stone structure during the 14th century. The bronze (panchlauha) idol of Lokeshwar (identified as Brahma), about 5 feet high, of the temple is called as oldest of the South Indian temples. It has an inscription dated 968 A.D. (or 1068 A.D.), engraved on the pedestal. The inscription states that King Kundavarma of the Alupa Dynasty installed the Lokeshwara idol in Kadarika Vihara. It mentions Mangalore as "Mangalapura". The image has three faces and six arms, and holds and hold flowers in two of the arms. The crown depicts a Dhyani Buddha. The image has an ornate prabhavali, and two attendants. It is very well preserved with enameled eyes. There exist two other undated bronze images of similar craftsmanship, one of them is identifiable as an Avalokiteshwar (called Narayana) and other as Buddha (called Vedavyasa). Another stone inscription in Tulu, Kannada and Malayalam scripts of 12-13th century A.D., in temple's kitchen, states that the ruler and the local landlords contributed land for the temple. A 1730 AD text Kadli Manjunath Mahatmyam gives an account of the association with Natha Mantha. It is believed that Parashurama who was living in Sahyadri, killed the Kshathriyas who were cruel and donated the lands to Kashyapa. He prayed to Lord Shiva for a place to live. Lord Shiva assured Parashurama that if he performed a penance at Kadali Kshethra, Lord Shiva would reincarnate as Manjunatha for the betterment of the world. As per Shiva's orders Parashurama threw his axe into the sea and created a place for his penance. Yielding to Parashurama's prayers Lord Shiva appeared to him as Manjunatha with Goddess Parvathi and stayed at Kadri for the betterment of the world. As per the orders of Manjunatha the Sapthakoti Manthras become the seven Theerthas. This temple has Hindu and Buddhist histories. Buddhism was practised here till the 10th century AD. But after the decline of Buddhism, the devotion of Manjusri and Avalokiteśvara continued in this region. The Nath cult was embraced towards Buddhism and continued Tantric Shiva tradition as well. As a result, many Buddhist temples came into the Hindu vortex.