Gokarna is a small temple town located in the Uttara Kannada district of Karnataka state in southern India, It has a population of around 20,000. Shiva is the most worshipped deity in the town. Gokarna's main temple, Mahabaleshwara, is dedicated to Shiva. The temple houses what is believed by some to be the earliest Shiva lingam. Gokarna is known as one of seven important centers of pilgrimage in Hinduism. It lies on what was once an unspoiled coastline at the estuary of the River Aghanashini.