3. Gopa Charitam

The following verse, which was composed by one “Bahuran,” a brahman of northern Bhagalpur District in the early 1920s, urged Goalas to give up their claims to high status as Yadav kshatriyas. According to S. A. Khan, a district officer in Bhagalpur at the time, the verse was reproduced in large quantities in leaflet form and “sung by hired boys in the mofussil [countryside].”^[1] I have cited this verse extensively in chapter ^[4] and provide a full translation here as an example of the language employed by those who stood in radical opposition to kshatriya reform.^[2] Bahuran’s taunting jibes represent a complex and integrated poetic expression that combines pointed references to religious ideas, economic roles, and social status. The verse begins in a religious context, moves to a mytho-historical past, enters the economic, religious, and social immediacy of the present, and concludes with a call for a return to an idyllic past when brahmans were brahmans, shudras were shudras, and hierarchical prerogative went unquestioned. As a brahman appropriation of the Vaishnava past that Goalas had worked to conceive, a past based on genealogical ties to Krishna and Radha, Gopa Charitam most certainly constituted a serious affront to Yadav kshatriya sensibilities. Adding insult to injury, the author tried to turn that appropriated history against its original purpose: the redefinition of Goala identity as Yadav kshatriyas.

Gopa Charitam:

Shloka:

In supplication to Radha, the auspicious daughter of Brishbhanu,
Who is the presiding mistress of the ras^[3] and who dwells in Krishna’s
    heart.
In supplication to Krishna, who steals the hearts and clothes of the
    women of Braj,^[4]
Who has two arms, carries the flute in his hand, has a deep complexion,
    and wears a garland of wild flowers.
I, Bahuran by name, a reputed brahman, relate the conduct of the Gopas^[5]
    to educate them,
Gopas who are the followers of Dayanand.^[6]
Doha:
In heartfelt remembrance of the couple that lives at Vrindaban,
I describe the behavior of the gopas, without any pretence of being a
    guru, and with out any sinister motive.

Campfire Tale

(told in the manner of the wayfarer)

Oh Gopa jatiyo,^[7] you understand the austere virtues of Krishna
    of Golok,^[8] who took his birth as an avatar in Mathura.
Born a member of the Yadu lineage in the sacred home of
Basudev, he lifted the weight of Earth.^[9]
Afraid of Kans,^[10] Basudev carried the boy Krishna on his own
    head to Gokul,
To the home of his friend, Nand Ray, the headman of Braj and
    the husband of Yashomati.
Dronabasu^[11] and Dhara^[12] performed austerities, and to reward
    them Krishna took human form.
Knowing their pure hearts, he assumed an image of unparalleled
    beauty.
The boy Krishna would playfully steal milk, curd, and butter
    from the milkmaids to tease them,
And would accompany the cowherd boys to tend their cattle in
    the jungle.
He danced ras with all the Gopis,^[13] filled his mind with wisdom,
    and created a heavenly life for all.
So renowned is the auspicious vaishya lineage of Braj, worthy
    recipients of all India’s adoration.
In the company of Shri Krishna, the Gopas delivered themselves
    of wordly sin and took god into their hearts.
Chanting “hare Krishna, hare Krishna,” they worshipped Govinda
6Gopal^[14] and led successful lives.
Devotees like Ajamil, Swapach, Sajan Kasai, Mira Bai sang the
    praises of god,
Performed unparalleled devotions, and finally submerged
    themselves in the godhead.
The many sins of scavengers, hunters, and savages were cleansed,
    even Ravidas found refuge in Krishna.
Through bhakti and bhajan^[15] all of them went to heaven, but
    you Gopas have pinned your hopes to the sacred thread.^[16]
Oh Gopa jatiya, read the Bhaktmal, think only of god and reform
    your lives.
God will surely abandon you if you forget your dharma and
    oppose brahmans.
Remember the dvaparyug,^[17] have faith in the Vedas and the
Puranas, maintain family rituals, and god will sustain you.
Abandon the ways of Dayanand, Gopas, difficult times lie ahead
    in the Kaliyug.
Hay, Hay, Hay, words fail me, you Gopas have fallen far from the
    path of virtue.
Your mothers cut grass, your sisters sell milk in the villages, towns,
    and markets.
You wear the sacred thread on your shoulders while your women
    wake up to milk your cows and round up your calves.
You work the plough with your sacred threads on, and make your
    women labor in the fields.
You’ve used up all the weavers’ cloth, and the scarcity of cotton
    makes thread expensive.
Gwalins^[18] sell milk and curd all day long, they would not know
    how to spin sacred thread.
When your elder brother dies, you transform his widow into a
    happy bride.
Whenever the husbands of your daughters and sisters die you
    marry off their wives afresh.
Born into the Gopa vamsh, you shamelessly claim to be of the
    kshatriya vamsh.
You ignore the Vedas and Puranas and become two jatis in one:
    you call yourselves kulin.^[19]
Even though you work to be a noble jati, no one accepts tobacco
    that you’ve touched.
Two opposing customs prevail in one family: one-month shradh
    and thirteen-day shradh.
[You can only] thank yourselves, your wisdom, and the tempera-
    ment of your jati,
[You can only] thank your marriage brokers and your priests, for
    all your ancestors have been sent to heaven.^[20]
Read the Laws of Manu wherein Gopas are given as shudras, and
    abandon shradh after thirteen days.
Be united and accept a one-month shradh, this should be the
    reform of the Gopa jati.
If shudras perform the fire sacrifice, worship shalgram,^[21] and
    offer cooked food to Vishnu,
The sage Yagyavalkya decrees that they will be destroyed and sent
    to hell.
Your ancestors in Kashi, Vrindaban, Awadh, and Gokul, have
    filled the stomachs of all the sadhus.
^[22][This is why] they can wear the sacred thread and perform
    thirteen-day shradh.
Without asking the permission of lord Krishna, you have assumed
    the sacred names of Gurudatta, Gauridatta, Raj, Ratinath,
21Shrikant, Ayodhyanath, Govind Lal, Kalanath, and Kantalal.^[23]
Badrinath, Yadunath, Parmanand, Sada Shiva—kiss their pictures
    and cling tight to them.
22You have taken it upon yourselves to propitiate the gods and your ancestors, and have fulfilled all your desires.^[24]
You have abandoned your family duties for the ideas of Dayanand,
    and have thus destroyed your good name.
You have even forsaken the praises that hundreds of virtuous men
    sang on your behalf.
I ask god with folded palms, why has the wisdom of the Gopas
    been destroyed?
Think for yourselves in groups of ten or twenty, and give up the
    spread of the sacred thread.
Do not be offended by me, think only of the common good for all.
You were the mainstay of our lives and this dispute has caused us
    great pain.
My name is Bahuran and I live in Ram Patti village north of the
    pilgrimage center of Singheshwar in Bhagalpur District.
26Follow this good advice and avoid improper behavior.
27If you Gopas take exception to my faults, then grant me respectful pardon.

Notes