Gopal or Gouda is an Indian caste, from

Odisha Odisha (), formerly Orissa (List of renamed places in India, the official name until 2011), is a States and union territories of India, state located in East India, Eastern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by ar ...

State State most commonly refers to: * State (polity), a centralized political organization that regulates law and society within a territory **Sovereign state, a sovereign polity in international law, commonly referred to as a country **Nation state, a ...

East India East India is a region consisting of the Indian states of Bihar, Jharkhand, Odisha and West Bengal and also the union territory of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands. The states of Bihar and West Bengal lie on the Indo-Gangetic plain. Jharkhan ...

. Their traditional occupations include dairy farming, cattle herding, cultivation and carrying palanquins of deities. They also worked as Paikas (soldiers) under the kings. Gopal is the name of the milkmen or herdsmen caste in Odisha, which is known by other names (such as

Ahir Ahir or Aheer (derived from the Sanskrit word: abhira) is a community of traditionally non-elite pastoralists in India, most of whom now use the Yadav surname, as they consider the two terms synonymous. The Ahirs are variously described as a ...

Yadav Yadavs are a grouping of non-elite, peasant-pastoral Quote: "The Yadavs were traditionally a low-to-middle-ranking cluster of pastoral-peasant castes that have become a significant political force in Uttar Pradesh (and other northern states l ...

, Goala etc.) in various parts of India. According to 1931 census of India, they are second largest caste by numbers and comprise around 9% of Odisha's population.

Etymology

The word Gopal derived from

vedic upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''. The Vedas ( or ; ), sometimes collectively called the Veda, are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed ...

"Gopala", which "''Go''" refers to

cow Cattle (''Bos taurus'') are large, domesticated, bovid ungulates widely kept as livestock. They are prominent modern members of the subfamily Bovinae and the most widespread species of the genus '' Bos''. Mature female cattle are called co ...

and "''Pala''" refers to protector or herder. Hence "Gopala" literally means "cow herder"

Origin and history

The Gopalas (Gaudas) like all Yadavs claim that they are descendants from

Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit language, Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God (Hinduism), Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, c ...

of the ancient

Yadava The Yadava (), not to be confused with Yadav, were an ancient Indian people who believed to have descended from Yadu (legendary king), Yadu, a legendary king of Chandravamsha lineage. The community was formed of various clans, being the #T ...

clan after the Sanskritisation process by Arya Samaj in 1930. In the Mahasabha held in 1930, Dairy faming castes such as Ahirs, Gaudas, Gopalas etc were advised to Identify themselves as "Son of Krishna" and hence they can identify themselves as martial caste. Since 1930 during the

Sanskritisation Sanskritisation (or Sanskritization) is a term in sociology which refers to the process by which castes or tribes placed lower in the caste hierarchy seek upward mobility by emulating the rituals and practices of the dominant castes or upper c ...

of castes in India, The Gopalas started to be incorporated into a newly established Yadav community, along with

, Gops, Goalas, and Sadgops.

Subdivisions

The Gopalas (Gaudas) are three types:- Mathurapuria, Gopapuria and Magadhaa, where Mathurapurias and Gopapurias are superior to Magadha classes. Which symbolically refer to their ancestral land of

Mathura Mathura () is a city and the administrative headquarters of Mathura district in the states and union territories of India, Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Delhi; and about from the town of Vrindavan. In ancient ti ...

and

Gokul Gokul is a town in the Mathura district of the Indian state of Uttar Pradesh. It is located south-east of Mathura. History In the ''Viṣṇu Purāṇa'' and '' Bhāgavata Purāṇa'', the term "gokula" does not refer to any specifi ...

(Gopa) of

Uttar Pradesh Uttar Pradesh ( ; UP) is a States and union territories of India, state in North India, northern India. With over 241 million inhabitants, it is the List of states and union territories of India by population, most populated state in In ...

and

Magadha Magadha was a region and kingdom in ancient India, based in the eastern Ganges Plain. It was one of the sixteen Mahajanapadas during the Second Urbanization period. The region was ruled by several dynasties, which overshadowed, conquered, and ...

Bihar Bihar ( ) is a states and union territories of India, state in Eastern India. It is the list of states and union territories of India by population, second largest state by population, the List of states and union territories of India by are ...

. While the Magadha Gauda are inhabitants of Singhbhum and western Mayurbhanj, they possibly represent an accretion of some aboriginal tribes. There are minor differences among them, some area of odisha the Gopalas are also known as their other names including: Mahakud, Sholakhandia, Sadgope and Gopal BaishnabAlt URL
/ref> among them.

Culture

Festival

* The Dola Purnima ( Holi festival): is the Major festival of Gopalas (Gaudas), It starts from the tenth day of the bright fortnight of the month of Falguna (Feb-March) known as Fagu 'Dasami'. This festival is celebrated for five days in Odisha. In this festival they place the idols of

Radha Krishna Radha-Krishna (IAST , ) is the combined form of the Hindu god Krishna with his chief consort and ''shakti'' Radha. They are regarded as the feminine as well as the masculine realities of God and gender in Hinduism, God, in several Krishnaism, Kr ...

in a Bimana (richly decorated palanquins), Smearing the heads with Abira (a violet coloured powder). Specially people of Gopala community carrying this palanquin and take round a procession with village Priest, drummers, pipers and the Sankirtana Mandalis. The procession halts in front of each household and the deity is offered Bhog. On the final day of the purnima the celebration culminates in a swing-festival for the deities. * The Dahi-handi Jatra (curd-pot festival): The birthday of

Lord Krishna Krishna (; Sanskrit: कृष्ण, ) is a major deity in Hinduism. He is worshipped as the eighth avatar of Vishnu and also as the Supreme God in his own right. He is the god of protection, compassion, tenderness, and love; and is wi ...

on the eighth day of Krushna pakshya is popularly celebrated throughout India as

Janmastami Krishna Janmashtami (), also known simply as Krishnashtami, Janmashtami, or Gokulashtami, is an annual Hindu festival that celebrates the birth of Krishna, the eighth avatar of Vishnu. In certain Hindu texts, such as the '' Gita Govinda ...

on the ninth day. Lord Krishna along with his friends had broken the curd-pot in the house of the king Nanda. This tradition is maintained in Paralakhemundi as Dahi-handi-Jatra. On the ninth day or Nabami, the people tie a curd pot with a bamboo and place it between two poles. Traditionally, a Gauda-boy as the representative of Lord Krishna breaks the curd pot. The other boys throw the coloured water from a hand pump (pichakari). Then the people place the

on a stage called 'Kunja’ and take a procession around the town.

Tradition

* Laudi Badi Khela is a traditional dance with combination of martial art and folk dance (called Laudi Nacha & Badi Khela) of the Gaudas (Gopalas), which is performed during Dola Purnima. In this dance the young Gopala boys wearing a special clothes in associated with Krishna. At first they practice 'Badi Khela'(martial art) by one or two trained people of their community, who held a sword in the right hand and a stick in left hand. They perform this art for sometime and then played 'Laudi'(folk dance) by a group of minimum 9 to 12 boys. Each boys holding two stick in their hand, dance with striking each other's stick in a rhythmical manner in front of the Palanquin of Radha Krishna. * Gopalila is a traditional puppet theatre, performed by Gopals (Cowherd boys) of

. They perform this theater on the occasion of Janmastami and Govardhan Puja. The concept of this theatre is associated with god Krishna's life.

Titles

The Gopalas uses surnames like Behera, Das, Palei, Palai, Pandab, Biswal, Sandha, Hati, Kabi, Khodei, Bhutia, Mahakul, Mahakhud, Mahakud, Mohapatra, Sasmal, Rout, Parida, Podh, Jal, Bhujabal, Khilar, Singh, Routray, Pratihari, Mandei,

Senapati Senapati ( , ''sena'' meaning "army", ''Pati (title), pati'' meaning "lord") is a title in ancient India denoting the rank of general (military), General. It was a hereditary title of nobility used in the Maratha Empire. During wartime, a ''Sar ...

, Dalua, Apata, Nayak Bagarti,

Pradhan Pradhan (Devanagari: प्रधान) is generally ministerial title of Sanskrit origin used in the Indian subcontinent. The Sanskrit ''pradhāna'' translates to "major" or "prime"; however, the more modern Hindi definitions provided by the Oxf ...

, Khuntia, Bag/Bagh, Hansha, Dalchhatra, Kharsel, Karuan, Nag and Shandh, Banchhor among others.

Social Status

Gopalas are followers of

Vaishnavism Vaishnavism () ), also called Vishnuism, is one of the major Hindu denominations, Hindu traditions, that considers Vishnu as the sole Para Brahman, supreme being leading all other Hindu deities, that is, ''Mahavishnu''. It is one of the majo ...

. Among them Gopapurias and Sadgops are the relics of Bala Gopala cult. They are one of a caste of Panikhia Jati group of

. They assist Brahmins on ritual occasion and also serve as priests in some temples. They are included in the SEBC/OBC list of the state.

References

{{Reflist Indian castes Social groups of Odisha Ahir