Gopinath () or Gopinatha is a form of the
Hindu
Hindus (; ; also known as Sanātanīs) are people who religiously adhere to Hinduism, also known by its endonym Sanātana Dharma. Jeffery D. Long (2007), A Vision for Hinduism, IB Tauris, , pp. 35–37 Historically, the term has also be ...
god
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 ...
. It is also one of the primary names of Krishna, meaning, "the lord of the cowherdesses".
Gopinath is associated with the
gopi
Gopi (, ) or Gopika in Hinduism are commonly referred to the group of milkmaids of Braj. They are regarded as the consorts and devotees of Krishna and are venerated for their unconditional love and devotion (''Bhakti'') to him as described i ...
s (milkmaids) of the
Braj
Braj, also known as Vraj, Vraja, Brij or Brijbhumi, is a region in India on both sides of the Yamuna river with its centre at Mathura-Vrindavan in Uttar Pradesh state encompassing the area which also includes Palwal, Ballabhgarh and Nuh in ...
(Vraja) region. The gopis are regarded to symbolise selfless devotion (
bhakti
''Bhakti'' (; Pali: ''bhatti'') is a term common in Indian religions which means attachment, fondness for, devotion to, trust, homage, worship, piety, faith, or love.See Monier-Williams, ''Sanskrit Dictionary'', 1899. In Indian religions, it ...
) to the deity, flocking around him in love and worship. The relationship between the gopis and Krishna is described in texts such as the
Harivamsa,
Bhagavata Purana
The ''Bhagavata Purana'' (; ), also known as the ''Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam)'', ''Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana'' () or simply ''Bhagavata (Bhāgavata)'', is one of Hinduism's eighteen major Puranas (''Mahapuranas'') and one ...
, and the
Gita Govinda
The ''Gita Govinda'' (; IAST: ''gītagovindam'') is a work composed by the 12th-century Hindu poet, Jayadeva. It describes the relationship between Krishna, Radha and ''gopis'' (female cow herders) of Vrindavan.
The ''Gita Govinda'' is organiz ...
.
Meanings
The name Gopinath is a Sanskrit compound. Generally, Gopinath is understood to be a ''
tatpuruṣa
Sanskrit inherits from its parent, the Proto-Indo-European language, the capability of forming compound nouns, also widely seen in kindred languages, especially German, Greek, and English.
However, Sanskrit, especially in the later stages of th ...
'' compound meaning "Lord (or protector) of the ''gopīs''."
A
Gaudiya
Gaudiya Vaishnavism (), also known as Chaitanya Vaishnavism, is a Vaishnava Hindu religious movement inspired by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (1486–1534) in India. "Gaudiya" refers to the Gaura or Gauḍa region of Bengal (present-day Malda dist ...
interpretation of the name is that Gopinath is a ''
bahuvrīhi
A bahuvrīhi, or bahuvrīhi compound, is a type of compound word that denotes a referent by specifying a certain characteristic or quality the referent possesses. A bahuvrihi is exocentric, so that the compound is not a hyponym of its head. For ...
'' compound meaning "Krishna whose masters are the ''gopīs''."
Temples
In many Krishna temples, Krishna is worshipped as Gopinath. Historic temples of Gopinath includes:
* Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Temple,
Jaipur
Jaipur (; , ) is the List of state and union territory capitals in India, capital and the List of cities and towns in Rajasthan, largest city of the north-western States and union territories of India, Indian state of Rajasthan. , the city had ...
* Sri Sri Radha Gopinath Temple,
Vrindavan
Vrindavan (; ), also spelt Vrindaban and Brindaban, is a historical city in the Mathura district of Uttar Pradesh, India. It is located in the Braj, Braj Bhoomi region and holds religious importance for Hindus who believe that Krishna, one of ...
*
Gopinath Dev Temple,
Gujarat
Gujarat () is a States of India, state along the Western India, western coast of India. Its coastline of about is the longest in the country, most of which lies on the Kathiawar peninsula. Gujarat is the List of states and union territories ...
See also
*
Achyuta
*
Gopala
*
Govinda
Govinda (, ), also rendered Govind, Gobinda, and Gobind, is an epithet of Vishnu and his avatars, such as Krishna. The name appears as the 187th and the 539th name of Vishnu in the ''Vishnu Sahasranama''. The name is also popularly addressed to ...
*
Keshava
Keshava (, ) is an epithet of Vishnu in Hindu tradition. The name appears as the 23rd and 648th names in the Vishnu sahasranama, Vishnu Sahasranama of the Mahabharata. Keshava is also venerated by those persons wanting to avert bad luck or ill- ...
*
Madhava
*
Radha Ramana
Radha Ramana () is one of the three combined forms of the Hindu deities Radha and Krishna. The other two forms are Banke Bihari and Radha-Vallabha. Radha Ramana is typically adorned with feathers, a crown, a yellow dress, and a shining '' vaija ...
*
Vāsudeva
Vāsudeva (; ), later incorporated as Vāsudeva-Krishna (, "Krishna, son of Vasudeva Anakadundubhi, Vasudeva"),"While the earliest piece of evidence do not yet use the name Krsna...." in At the time of the Heliodorus pillar dedication to Vāsu ...
References
Forms of Krishna
Titles and names of Krishna
Vaishnavism
Swaminarayan Sampradaya
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