Kanara

Kanara, also known as Canara and Karāvali, is the historically significant stretch of land situated by the southwestern coast of India, alongside the Arabian Sea in the present-day Indian state of Karnataka. The subregion comprises three civil districts, namely: Uttara Kannada, Udupi, and Dakshina Kannada. Kasaragod was included prior to the States Reorganisation Act.

== Etymology == According to historian Severino da Silva, the ancient name for this region is Parashurama Srushti (creation of Parashurama). According to him and Stephen Fuchs, the name Canara is the invention of Portuguese, Dutch, and English people who visited the area for trade from the early sixteenth century onwards. The Bednore Dynasty, under whose rule this tract was at that time, was known to them as the Kannada Dynasty, i.e., the dynasty speaking the Kannada language. "Karāvalli", the Kannada word for 'coast', is the term used by Kannada-speakers to refer to this region. The letter 'd' being always pronounced like 'r' by the Europeans, the district was named by them as 'Canara' (a corruption of the word "Kannada"). This name was retained by the British after their occupation of the district in 1799, and has remained ever since. However, they also say that this issue is controversial.