History of Remuna - Kheer Chora Gopinath

ब्रजे वसंतम नवनीत चौरम

ब्रजांगनानाम वसनैका चौरम

अनेक जन्मार्जित पाप चौरम

चौराग्रगंयम पुरुषं नमामि

Braje Vasantam Navaneta Chauram,

Brajagananam Vasanaika Charam

Aneka Janmarjita Papa Chauram

Chauragraganyam Purusam Namami

Meaning—Everyone is scared in Gokul a dangerous thief (chor), has sneaked into Brij secretly, so oh Residents of Gokul ! Be careful. One resident asked what does that dangerous chor steals. Reply goes, He steals clothes of Gopis, while they take bath, also steals butter from their houses when Gopis are not at home. Oh Greatest stealer of the universe! Have Mercy on me. Kindly steal load of sin I have earned in my various births. I salute you oh greatest stealer.

-Shri Vallabhacharya

We have already written about Kheer Chora or Kshira Chora Gopinatha temple in Remuna, Balasore but when we recently visited Remuna to have a darshan of Lord Gopinatha pujari told us about the history of Gopinatha deity. It goes like this.........

It was Treta Yug. Lord Rama was in exile and went to Chitrakut along with Sita and Lakshmana. Enthralled by the natural beauty of the place, He decided to stay there for some time. One day, it rained heavily and soon it was green all around. The milch cows in the hermitages were grazing. On seeing the cows,Lord Rama smiled.

Sita was eager to know why. Rama explained that the scene indicated his next avatar as Krishna, the cowherd, in Dwapara Yug. Sita wished to see Him in that form. Ramachandra went into the forest and took a piece of stone and inscribed on it the Tribhangi posture of Sri Krishna with the `Murali' in his hands by arrow. He also sculpted the figures of eight sakhis(gopis) at his service. In the left side there is Lalita , Vishakha, Chitra and Indulekha and in the right side Champaklata, Sudevi, Tungvidya and Rangadevi. Further, near His feet the portrayals of his four dear companions namely Sanandan, Subala, Vidagdha and Madhumangala, with cows (गौचारण लीला), destruction of Chanur and Mustika were added. (To have this beautiful darshan please attend mangala aarti at 5.00 am otherwise the vigraha is covered with dhoti and you can only see His face and hands.)

Sri Kheer Chora Gopinath

An elated Sita touched the figures and asked Rama how he drew it. Rama touched the stone with the sharp end of his arrow and the image started bleeding profusely. The vigraha had sprung to life by the divine touch. Sita worshipped this vigraha. After that it was worshiped by Lord Brahma.

While returning to Ayodhya, after destroying Ravana and his clan, Rama spent a night in a beautiful place now known as Remuna(This is local belief. Even in Valmiki Ramayan it is stated that while returning from Lanka to Ayodhya through Pushpak plane Lord Ram showed many places to Sita). Sita wanted to have a bath. Rama created a river by discharging seven arrows. Hence the name of the river, Saptasara. Rama returned to Ayodhya.

The vigraha engraved at Chitrakut was being worshiped by Brahma in Treta Yug, Dwapara Yug and for many years in Kali Yug. During Kali Yug, King Langula Narasimha Dev of Orissa, a staunch Vaishnavite renowned for his charity, set out on a pilgrimage. He arrived at Chitrakut. One day, the royal couple while travelling spotted the vigraha worshipped by Brahma and decided to bring it to Srikshetra. At night the idol appeared in his dream and told that His name was Madanagopal and commanded the king to carry it with him.

Next day, they rechristened the idol as Jay Gopal and carried it with them. On the way, they took rest at Remuna. The Lord expressed his wish to stay at Remuna since there were a lot of milch cows there. The king devotedly carried out the orders by a royal proclamation. Since Jay Gopal was encircled by eight sakhis and companions the queen named him `Sri Gopinath.' After excavating some tanks at Remuna, the king returned to Puri.

According to legend, Langula Narasimha Dev lived in the 13th Century A.D. Therefore, it could be construed that the arrival of Lord Gopinath at Remuna took place about 800 years ago. The river Saptasara now exists as a small resource.

Now the vigraha is known as kheer chora gopinath since He had stolen pot of kheer for His devotee Madhavendra puri. To read in detail click this link Kheer Chor Gopinath.

Gopinath is worshiped on the altar with Sri 'Madana Mohana', Sri 'Govinda', 'Radha-Rasabihari', and 'Chaitanya Mahaprabhu' with Lord 'Jagannatha' on one side and numerous 'Shalagram-Shilas' on the other side.

Lord Gopinatha, flanked by Sri Govinda and Sri Madana Mohana, is made of black stone. Sri Gopinatha stands in bas-relief. Govinda and Madana Mohana, who were brought from Vrindavana in about 1938 by a devotee named "Chaitanya Dasa Babaji", are free standing.

The original Gopinath Temple in Orissa was destroyed by the Muslim invasions. The temple was renovated by the Rasikananda. Rasikananda is said to have found the idol of the deity in a pond, situated about 4 kilometers from the temple. The idol of Gopinath was hidden in the pond in order to protect it from any harm. Rasikanand Prabhu's samadhi is in the temple. Madhavendra puri's samadhi is also near the temple.

Madhavendra puri samadhi