Festivals
The festival at the Kumbla temple which lasts five days every year commences with Dhwaja Arohanam on the Makara Sankramana day every year. The festival comes to an end with the idol coming back after being dipped in the pond about three kilometres from the temple premises and the holy flag (Kodi) coming down. Popularly known as "Kumble Bedi", because of the display of crackers done in front of the idol. The idol is sat on the Banyan tree platform and the display extends to almost one and half hours.
"Bali" is the typical way of carrying the idol overhead of a poojary. Who goes around the temple with the idol decorated with flower and ornaments, which is never to be too light. The poojary moves as per the taala of chendamelam and vadyam. First he moves with one of his hands supporting the idol on his head and the other hand swinging. In the end, he removes the support and moves quickly around the temple.
History
The original seat of the Raja of Kumbla was Kanipura Temple, but it was later shifted to Maipady (Mayapuri). Even today, one can see the ruins of the fort at Kumbla or Kotekar and Arikadi, which bear testimony to the political importance of Kumbla in the past. According to tradition, Kanipura is a derivative of Kanvapura, and the Prathishtah of Sri Gopalkrishna Moorthi of the temple is ascribed to Kanva Maharshi, from whom the name of the place is derived. The names of other places 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 indicate the faith of people in the many legends relating to the association of the sage Kanva with this temple and the surrounding area.
The Sthala-Purana legend claims that after installing the idol, a jet-black granite statue of Balagopalakrishna that was being worshipped by Yashoda, the sage performed Adhishekam to the deity using the Manthrodaka that he had previously saved in his Kamandalu. The Manthrodaka then flowed out as a stream, grew into a river, and eventually joined the western sea not far from the temple. The river is "Kumbha Hole", (Hole means river) also known as the Kumbhini. The town came to be known as Kumbla from this event.
The temple is situated in the heart of the town of Kumbla at the foot of an elevated hill, which rises in front of it, with the river Kumbha Hole flanking it on the north. Extensive repairs and renovations have been carried out on the temple. 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 in ancient times would have taken place at 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 temples.
Parthi Subba, the father of Yakshagana, along with Madhur Sri Mahaganapathi, has sung praises of Kanipura Sri Gopalakrishna in several songs. He was born and bred in Kumbla and composed all his Yakshagana Prasangas there between 1740 to 1800 AD, earning him the title of the father of Thenkku Thittu Yakshagana. He was in the line of the Paatalies of the Kumbla temple and presented a copper "Dhara Battal" to the Madhur temple during the Moodappa seva in 1797, inscribed with his name in Kannada, which is presently in use at the Madhur temple.
