Legend has it that Lord Parashurama after performing Ashwamedha yaga and donating all the lands reached the peak of Sahyadri mountain near present day Gokarna. In order to find a new landmass for him to settle, he throws the axe (Parashu) towards the sea and the sea moves back. Although some accounts say that he fired an arrow towards the sea. Thus a new landmass is created from Gokarna to Kanyakumari and is called Parashurama Kshetra.

Recently there’s been a new hypothesis by certain groups with vested interests to portray Tulunadu as a creation by Brahmer (Bermer or Brahma Daiva) and thereby portraying Tulunadu as non vaidhika. Scholars have disputed these facts and have stated that while Brahma is Kuladaiva of Tuluvas, he’s not the creator of Tulunadu.

Science
Modern geology also shows that new landmasses can emerge due to tectonic activity in the Earth’s mantle layer. Even the Himalayas were non-existent until a few million years ago and were formed when the Indian subcontinent and Eurasia collided with each other.

Foreground
The land thus reclaimed from the sea was unfit for habitation, hence Lord Prashurama requested Nagas (Adhipathis of nether world) to make this land useful for habitation. The Nagas burrowed deep into the earth and brought out fresh water and also neutralized the salt content in the land with their venom. Hence in Parashurama Kshetra special significance and emphasis is laid for Nagaradhane.

The Prashurama Kshetra was divided into 64 grams (32 Tulu Gramas and 32 Malayala Gramas). Ancient Tulunadu existed from present day Gokarna to Payyanur in present day Kerala. There’s still a place by name Thuluvanur (ancient border between Tulunadu and Kerala) on the outskirts of Payyanur having a temple dedicated to Thuluvanurappan (Maha Vishnu) which until a few centuries before was being worshipped by Shivalli Brahmins. Due to reasons unknown people migrated and the temple fell into a state of disarray.

The ancient capital of Tulunadu was Barkur, the location incidentally is in the middle of the ancient Tulunadu region. Barkur also has an ancient Mata called Bhandarkere Mutt which is a branch of the Bheemanakatte Mutt (Bheemasethu Muni Vrundha) in Thirthahalli, Shivamogga. These mutts have a documented history of more than 5000 years (Copper inscription from times of King Janamejaya, grandson of Pandavas is present in Shivamogga archeological museum concerning the Mutts) and these mutts trace their roots to sage Doorvasa.

There’s also a temple of Tuluveshwara dedicated to Lord Shiva in Basrur, near Kundapura which incidentally is in ruins today.

A testimony to the fact that Tulu as a language and as a kingdom which once spawned from Gokarna to Payyanur, is now spoken only from Brahmavara to Kasaragod. The ancient capital of Tulunadu, Barkur doesn’t have a trace of Tulu today. However one can still see Tulu inscriptions carved on temple ruins.