In a remote valley in Kerala’s Kannur district, researchers have identified a granite temple featuring the rare Gaja-Prishta (elephant-back) architectural style. Attributed to the 9th-century Mushika dynasty, the temple is notable for its use of zinc-alloy plates inscribed with a rare variant of the Vatteluttu script, documenting the temple's endowment by maritime merchants.
The temple’s unique structural design incorporates a specialized drainage system that suggests it was used for complex ritual ablutions involving herbal decoctions. Local conservationists are now working to stabilize the granite base, which has been partially displaced by centuries of monsoon rains and root growth in the surrounding rainforest.