Gopi: Difference between revisions

'''Gopi''' (गोपी) is a [[Sanskrit]] word originating from the word Gopa. In [[Hinduism]] especially, the name ''Gopika'' (feminine form of ''Gopi'') is used more commonly to refer to milkmaids of [[Braj]]. Gopis are famous within [[Vaishnavism]] for their unconditional devotion (''[[Bhakti]]'') to [[Krishna]] as described in the [[Bhagavata Purana]] and other [[Puranas|Puranic]] literature.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Walters |first=Holly |date=2016-12-01 |title=Playing God: Participant Frameworks in the Ras Lilas of Krishna |url=https://www.utpjournals.press/doi/abs/10.3138/jrpc.28.2-3.3611 |journal=The Journal of Religion and Popular Culture |volume=28 |issue=2-3 |pages=135–144 |doi=10.3138/jrpc.28.2-3.3611 |issn=1703-289X}}</ref>

According to Indian philosopher, [[Jiva Goswami]], gopis are considered as the eternal beloved and manifestation of the internal spiritual potency of Krishna. Among the gopis, [[Radha]] is the chief gopi and is the personification of bliss potency (''hladini [[shakti]]'') of Krishna.<ref>{{Cite journal |last=Mohanty |first=Prafulla Kumar |date=2003 |title=Mask and Creative Symbolisation in Contemporary Oriya Literature : Krishna, Radha and Ahalya |url=https://www.jstor.org/stable/23341400 |journal=Indian Literature |volume=47 |issue=2 (214) |pages=181–189 |issn=0019-5804}}</ref> She alone manifest the stage of "''Mahabhav"'' or supreme love for Krishna and holds a place of particularly high reverence and importance in a number of religious traditions.<ref>{{Cite book|last=Francis Bryant|first=Edwin|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=HVDqCkW1WpUC&dq=The+six+sandarbhas+of+Jiva+Gosvami&pg=PA373|title=Krishna: A Sourcebook|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=2007|isbn=978-019-514891-6|location=United States of America|pages=382}}</ref> In Hinduism, Gopis are often considered as the expansion of [[Radha]].<ref>{{Cite book |last=Jestice |first=Phyllis G. |url=https://books.google.co.uk/books?id=H5cQH17-HnMC&pg=PA316&dq=Gopis+incarnations+radha&hl=en&sa=X&ved=2ahUKEwj2vMrF1NT4AhV5qVYBHb0qDRwQ6AF6BAgHEAM#v=onepage&q&f=false |title=Holy People of the World: A Cross-cultural Encyclopedia |date=2004 |publisher=ABC-CLIO |year=2004 |isbn=978-1-57607-355-1 |pages=316-317 |language=en}}</ref>