Mal: കാസർഗോഡ് kāsargōḍ
‘Backwater Lake’ [Kanhirakode] Town/District, Kerala
From Mal: kāñjiram, ‘strychnine tree’, ‘snake wood tree’, ‘poison nut’ [Strychnos nux vomica]; and kāṭu, ‘wilderness’, ‘wood’
This derivation assumes that Kasaragoda is a simple corruption of the original name and matches Kanjirangad and Kanhangad.
An alternative which matches the modern name is Mal: kāsāram, ‘lake’, ‘pond’; and kōṭu/gōḍu, ‘end’.
Kasaragod is situated at the end of the Chandragiri Puzha [Mal: puḻa/puzha, ‘river’], more of a lake here than a river, and certainly more than a pond.
Kasaragod has an enviable stretch of coastline with beaches and coastal forts.
