Toshali Sands

The God who Stole Kheer

Adjacent of Balasore in Orissa, just four kilometers away from N.H. 5 a small village Remuna, othrwisely known as Gupta Brindayan is situated . Renuma has become famous as an important seat of the Vaishnavite cult. Here Lord Krishna was given the name “ Kheera Chora Gopinath� who stole kheer (Milk) for his staunch devotee Madhabendra Puri goswami. The Temple of Kheera Chora Gopinath is small but very beautiful in which the sparkling blue image of Lord Krishna has been installed.

The mythical depiction of Ramuna is found in Ramayan that Lord Rama carved the deity on a sparkling blue stone. As Lord Brahma worshiped the deity, who was in the pose of Muralidhar, Rama could not take deity of Ayodhya. Lord Rama created a river with his seven arros for which the river came to be known as Saptasrota of Saptasara at Ramania. Ramania latter came to be known as Remuna. Now the small river flows near Remuna.

The historical evidence states that the Gajapati of Puri, Narasingha Dev on seeing the beautiful blue image of Lord Krishna, installed the Lord in a newly built Temple at Remuna. As eight Gopis encircled the Lord, the queen renamed the idol as Gopinath.

Madhabendra Puri was the fifteenth deciple of the Madhwacharya Sect and the Paramguru of Sri Chaitanya. Madhabendra Puri once came to Remuna and had a desire to taste the Kheer offered to the Lord as the Prasad, know as Amrita Keli but could not get it. Known the desire of his devotee, the Lord concealed the Kheer under his clotes and ordered the priest in his dream that the said concealed Kheer must be given to Madhabendra Puri who was by that time sleeping out side the Temple. So this God and Devotee relationship could rename the Lord as Kheera Chora Gopinath (Gopinath who stole Kheer). Then the devotee Mahdabendra Puri started the rite of smearing sandalwood paste on the body of Gopinath. It is said that Shri Chaitanya had once visited the Temple Site.

Even today also thousands of devotees visit Temple of Kheera Chora Gopinath and after a darshan they take kheer, which is another attraction as a prasad and a divine delicacy.