Gopis as depicted in portrait at the Smithsonian Institute

Gopi is a word of Sanskrit (गोपी) origin meaning 'cow-herd girl'. In Hinduism specifically the name gopi (sometimes gopika) is used more commonly to refer to the group of cow herding girls famous within Vaishnava Theology for their unconditional devotion (bhakti) to Krishna as described in the stories of Bhagavata Purana and other Puranic literatures. Of this group, one gopi known as Srimati Radharani holds a place of particularly high reverence and importance in a number of religious traditions, especially within Gaudiya Vaishnavism. Image File history File links The_Gopis_Search_For_Krishna. ... Image File history File links The_Gopis_Search_For_Krishna. ... The Smithsonian castle, as seen through the garden gate. ... The Sanskrit language ( , for short ) is an old Indo-Aryan language from the Indian Subcontinent, the classical literary language of the Hindus of India[1], a liturgical language of Hinduism, Buddhism, and Jainism, and one of the 23 official languages of India. ... Hinduism (known as in some modern Indian languages[1]) is a religion that originated on the Indian subcontinent. ... COW is an acronym for a number of things: Can of worms The COW programming language, an esoteric programming language. ... A man herding goats in Tunisia Herding is the act of bringing individual animals together into a group, maintaining the group and moving the group from place to place—or any combination of those. ... Two girls who are friends A girl is a female child, as opposed to a boy, a male child. ... Vaishnava Theology is the theological discourse concerning the Hindu deity Vishnu and/or one of His avatar. ... Bhakti - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia /**/ @import /skins-1. ... Krishna with Radha, 18th C Rajasthani painting Krishna (कृष्ण in Devanagari, in IAST ) is a deity worshipped across many traditions of Hinduism. ... The Bhagavata Purana (sometimes rendered as Bhagavatha Purana), also known as the Srimad Bhagavatam, written c. ... Purana (Sanskrit: , meaning tales of ancient times) is the name of an ancient Indian genre (or a group of related genres) of Hindu or Jain literature (as distinct from oral tradition). ... A Rajastani style painting of Sri Radha Radha (Devanagari: राधा) is a famous female personality from Hindu, (Vedic) tradition, also known as Radharani, prefixed with the respectful term Srimati by devout followers. ... Gaudiya Vaishnavism, (Bengal) Vaishnavism, is a sect of Hinduism founded by Chaitanya Mahaprabhu. ...

Prominent Gopis

The gopis are generally divided into three groups: Gopi friends of the same age as Krishna; maidservants; and gopi messengers. The first group, Krishna's contemporary gopi friends, are the most exalted, the second group, the maidservants are the next most exalted, and the gopi messengers come after them. The primary eight gopis are considered the foremost of Krishna's devotees after Srimati Radharani, their names are as follows : Friendship is a term used to denote co-operative and supportive behaviour between two or more humans. ... A maidservant or in current usage maid is a female employed in domestic service. ... This article is about the NASA space mission. ...

• Lalita Sakhi
• Visakha Sakhi
• Campakalata Sakhi
• Citra Sakhi
• Tungavidya Sakhi
• Indulekha Sakhi
• Rangadevi Sakhi
• Sudevi Sakhi
• Druhmil Patel Sakhi Sakhi

Lalita (sometimes written Lalitha) is another name for Devi and means elegant or beautiful. ... Visakha - was one of the chief female lay disciples of the Buddha. ... Indulekha (Malayalam:ഇന്ദുലേഖ), a novel by O Chandu Menon, initiated the novel as a new genre and is therefore considered to be a landmark in the history of Malayalam literature although it is credited as the second malayalam novel (first being Kundalatha published in 1887). ...

Unconditional love

According to Hindu Vaishnava theology the stories concerning the gopis are said to exemplify the highest form of unconditional love to God (Krishna). Their spontaneous and unwavering devotion is described in depth in the later chapters of the Bhagavata Purana, within Krishna's Vrindavan pastimes and also in the stories of the sage Uddhava. Vrindavan, in Mathura district, Uttar Pradesh is a town on the site of the original forest of Vrindavana. ... Uddhava (also known as Pavanayadhi) is a character from the Puranic texts of Hinduism, wherein his is the friend and counsellor of Krishna the avatar. ...

See also

• Gita Govinda
• Chaitanya Mahaprabhu
• Holy Basil (Tulsi)
• Six Goswamis
• Gopi Krishna

The Gita Govinda or the Song of the Shri Krishna is a work composed in the 12th century by Jayadeva Goswami. ... 59. ... Binomial name Ocimum tenuiflorum L. Synonyms Ocimum sanctum L. The Tulsi (also known as Tulasi) plant or Holy Basil (Ocimum tenuiflorum) is an important symbol in many Hindu religious traditions. ... The Six Gosvamis of Vrindavan consist of; the brothers Sanatana Gosvami and Rupa Gosvami, their nephew Jiva Gosvami, Raghunatha Bhatta Gosvami, Raghunatha dasa Gosvami and Gopala Bhatta Gosvami. ... Gopi Krishna (1903 - 1984) of India was a yogi, mystic, teacher, social reformer, and writer. ...

Other meanings of Gopi

• Gopi is a popular Indian name.
• Gopi is a Malayalam film actor. One of Gopi's most notable movies is Yavanika, a serious drama revolving around a murder, and the circumstances surrounding it.

Malayalam (മലയാളം ) is the language spoken predominantly in the state of Kerala, in southern India. ... This does not cite its references or sources. ...

External links

• The Residents of Eternal Vrindavana (including Srimati Radharani & the Gopis)
• The Eight Main Gopis (Asta Sakhis)
• Deity Gallery: Radha-Madhava & the Eight Gopis
• Diagram of the Yoga Pitha in Vrindavana
• Srimati Radharani and other Personalities
• Krishna's Dance with the Female Cowherds - A Joyous, Spiritual Narrative