Gopas

Gopa or Gop or Gope is a synonym of the Yadav (Ahir) caste. It is generally used as a title by the Ahir caste in the states of Bihar, Jharkhand and West Bengal of East India and even in Terai region of Nepal.

Etymology

The sanskrit word Gopa, a king, originally meant only a cowherd; it then came to mean the head of cowpen and lastly the chief of a tribe.

Origin and History

According to Bhagavata Purana, The Gopas are re-incarnation of Devas. They are the messengers of Krishna, They are fond of Gavya or the products of Cows. The relation between Krishna and the Gopas is that between an object and its image.

In Rigved Dasam Mandal Maharaj Yadu is mentioned as Gopa. The Gopa and Gopati were epithets given to the King.

In Harivamsa Purana, it has been said that Gopas and Yadav are generic of same lineage and they are called Gope or Yadav.

Amarakosha gives Abhira as synonym for Gopa.

Mahabharat's Narayani (Gopayan) Army

Narayani Sena (Gopayan) or Yadav(Ahir) Sena, the army of Lord Krishna of Dwarka Kingdom is called as the supreme Sena of all time. It is described in the Mahabharat as being all of the Abhira caste. They were the basic threat to the rival kingdoms. Fearing Narayani Sena, many Kings did not try fighting against Dwaraka. Because Dwaraka sorted most of the threats through Krishna's politics and talent of Yadavas. Using Narayani Sena, the Yadavas extended their empire to most of India.

When Narayani Sena was fighting for Kauravas, only Kritavarma and his army unit fought for the Kauravas. Satyaki fought for the Pandavas. The rest of the Atirathas and Maharathis were withheld from the Kurukshetra war on the advice of Balram and Krishna.

These Gopas, whom Krishna had offered to Duryodhana to fight in his support when he himself joined Arjuna's side, were no other than the Yadavas themselves, who were also the Abhiras. They were the supporters of the Duryodhana and Kauravas, and in the Mahabharata, Abhir, Gopa, Gopal and Yadavas are all synonyms. They defeated the hero of Mahabharatha war (Arjuna), and spared him when he disclosed the identity of the members of the family of Sri Krishna.

Sanskritisation

Since 1930 during the Sanskritisation of castes in India, The Gopas started to be incorporated into a newly established Yadav Kshatriya community, along with Ahir, Gops, Goalas, and Sadgops.

Kingdoms

*Gopala Dynasty of Nepal, it was established by the Gopa.
*Sadgop Dynasty of Gopbhum. It had two Sadgop (Gopa) kings, one ruled from Amrargar and other from Dhekur (also known as Trisasthigar).
*Sadgop Raja of Narajole.
*Sadgop Kings of Narayangarh and Balrampur.

Culture

In Kosi division of Bihar, people of the Gopa or Ahir (Yadav) caste worship their caste deity Bisu Raut, whose temple is situated on the banks of the Gogri river.

Gop Jatiye Mahasabha

Gop Jatiye Mahasabha was formed by Babu Ras Bihari Lal Mandal in 1911, It was the regional organization of Gope or Ahir caste of Bihar, Bengal & Orissa.

Later, the All-India Yadav Mahasabha was formed by merging the Gop Jatiye Mahasabha and Ahir/Yadav Kshatriya Mahasabha. AIYM first National Conference was held in Purnea, Bihar on 17 to 20 April 1924.

See also

*Yadav
* Bihari Ahir
*Sadgop

References

{{Social groups of Maharashtra
Yadav
Indian castes
Social groups of Bihar
Social groups of Haryana
Social groups of West Bengal
Social groups of Maharashtra
Social groups of Chhattisgarh
Social groups of Uttar Pradesh