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     Kanipura Sri Gopalakrishna Temple

   

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History Of Temple 

        Kanipura (or kaniyara) is yet another familiar name for the coastal town of kumbla, situated about eight miles  due north of  Kasaragod town. It was the  original seat of the Raja of Kumbla, which was later on shifted to mayipadi (Mayapuri). Even to this day we could see the ruins of the fort at Kumbla or Kotekar and Arikadi,  which bear testimony to the political importance of Kumbla in the days gone by. Kanipura is only a derivative of Kanvapura. Tradition ascribes the Prathishtah of Sri Gopalkrishna Moorthi of the temple to Kanva Maharshi form whom the name of the place is derived. The other place names such as Kannur (also called Kanva Peetah) within two miles to the east of the temple and the well known Kanva Teertha of the Pejavar Mutt fame near Manjeshwar, also are indicative of the faith of the people in the many legends relating to the association of the sage Kanva with this temple and the place around if.
    

      The legendary Sthala-Purana of the temple has it that having installed the   idol, which is a most beautiful image of Balagopalakrishna in jet black granite, an idol which was being worshipped by the fostermother Yashoda, the sage performed Adhishekam to the deity with the Manthrodaka which he had saved in his Kamandalu during ages past; the Manthrodaka then flower out as a stream, grew in to a river and ultimately joined the western sea within a short distance form the temple. The river is “Kumbha Hole”, (Hole means river) also known as the Kumbhini. The town as well came to be known as Kumbla form this.

     The temple, for which extensive repairs and renovations have been carried out recently, is situated in the heart of the town of Kumbla at the foot of an   elevated hill which rises majestically in front of it, with the river Kumbha Hole flanking if on the left (north). If Srimadanantheshwara, and Sri Vinayaka of  Madhur are the deities of the daily worship of the senior Raja of Kumbla, the patta Abhisheka or coronation of the senior Raja would in ancient days take place in Kanipura Sri Gopalakrishna temple. The Abhisheka of the Yuvaraja of Kumbla used to take place at Srimath Udaneshwara Temple of perdala, which in Kumbla Seema is only next in importance to the above four temple.

  Kanipura Sri Gopalakrishna’s praises have been sung by Parthi Subba, the father of Yakshagana, along with those of Madhur Sri Mahaganapathi, in many an immortal song. In fact it was in Kumbla that Parthi Subba was born and bred up   (in about 1740 to 1800 A.D) and composed all his yakshagana prasangas which earned for him the title of the father of Thenkku Thittu Yakshagana. He was in the line of the Paatalies of the Kumbla temple, and at the Moodappa seva in Madhur temple in 1797 had presented a copper “Dhara Battal” to that temple inscribed with his name in Kannada, which is in use at the Madhur temple even to this day. The colourful festival at the Kumbla temple which lasts five days every year commences with Dhwaja Arohanam on the Makara Sankramana day every year. People in their thousands gather at these festivities. The temple draws a tasdik of Rs. 200/- a year and regular poojas are being offered to the Deity.

 There is subsidiary shrine of sri Mahaganapathi in the southern courtyard of this temple. It was consecrated and Brahmakalasha was performed a few years ago, thanks to the efforts of Sri K. Srinivasa Nayak, who has even made an endowment for the poojas and naivedya of this deity. There are also subsidiary deities in the temple namely Vanashastha, as well as the Pilichamundi Daiva. Daily pooja for the former, and periodical thambila for the latter are performed.

 
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