Thirthahalli (Kannada: , [tithi]) is a panchayat town located in the Shimoga District of the state of Karnataka, India. It lies on the bank of the river Tunga and is also the headquarters of the Thirthahalli Taluk of Shimoga district. According to a Hindu legend, the sage Parashurama using an axe, chopped off his mother Renuka's head on the orders of his father, the great sage Jamadagni. Later, Parashurama tried to wash the blood stains off the axe by dipping it in various rivers. Despite his best efforts, a sesame-sized blood stain remained on his axe. It was washed away only when he dipped his axe in the Tunga river near Thirthahalli. This place is now called as Parashurama Thirtha (or RamaThirtha) and is the origin of the name Thirthahalli (halli means village in the native Kannada language). Near RamaThirtha, there is a stone mantapa called Rama Mantapa. This legend has made Thirthahalli a holy place for Hindus with a belief that a dip in the river Tunga here...
