The bronze (panchlauha) idol of Lokeshwar (identified as Brahma), about 5 feet high, of the temple is called as oldest of the South Indian temples. It has an inscription dated 968 A.D. (or 1068 A.D.), engraved on the pedestal. The inscription states that King Kundavarma of the Alupa Dynasty installed the Lokeshwara idol in Kadarika Vihara. It mentions Mangalore as "Mangalapura". The image has three faces and six arms, and holds and hold flowers in two of the arms. The crown depicts a Dhyani Buddha. The image has an ornate prabhavali, and two attendants. It is very well preserved with enameled eyes. There exist two other undated bronze images of similar craftsmanship, one of them is identifiable as an Avalokiteshwar (called Narayana) and other as Buddha (called Vedavyasa). Another stone inscription in Tulu, Kannada and Malayalam scripts of 12-13th century A.D., in temple's kitchen, states that the ruler and the local landlords contributed land for the temple. A 1730 AD text Kadli Manjunath Mahatmyam gives an account of the association with Natha Mantha.