Kṛṣṇāliṅgita-vigraha – Always Embraced by Kṛṣṇa
The authorised life story of Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja
Chapter 2
Volume 1 – part 1
The Custodians of the
Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gopāla Jīu Temple
As described in Chapter One, Gadai Giri came from what is now part of West Bengal and settled in that area of Orissa, where he established the village of Gadāi-Giri in 1695.
Since the arrival of the Deity Gopāla Jīu Who came from Vṛndāvana to Gopal Giri, there have been successive custodians of the temple. Their names are listed below.
Śrī Gopal Giri
Gadai Giri had a son named Gopal Giri [1720–1805] who was famous for initiating the worship of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gopāla Jīu and establishing the Temple of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gopāla Jīu.
Śrī Dinabandhu Giri
Dinabandhu Giri [1745–1830] was the son of Gopal Giri, and he remained on this earth for eighty-five years. He spent most of his life in the service of Gopāla Jīu.
Śrī Abhiram Giri
Dinabandhu Giri’s son was Abhiram Giri [1770 – 1860]. He gave up his body at the age of ninety, after spending most of his life in the service of Gopāla Jīu.
Śrī Bhagat Charan Giri
Abhiram Giri’s son was Bhagat Charan Giri [1795–1877]. He lived for eighty-two years and for most of his life he regularly performed sevā to Gopāla Jīu. He was a renowned kīrtana-guru in that area and was honoured by the local Zamindar with a certificate in recognition of his kīrtana leadership.
Śrī Bhikari Giri
Bhagat Charan Giri had two sons: Laksman Giri and Bhikari Giri. Bhikari Giri [1825–1908] became a sannyāsī when he was thirty years old, and spent the rest of his life in Vṛndāvana. Prior to taking sannyāsa, when he was in the gṛhastha-āśrama, he produced a son, Govinda Giri.
Śrī Govinda Giri
Govinda Giri [1845–1933] was six years old when his father took sannyāsa. He was highly proficient in kīrtana. Throughout his eighty-eight years he served Gopāla Jīu regularly with great devotion.
Śrī Bauribandhu Giri
(Grandfather of Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja)
The next in line for custodianship of the Gopāla Jīu Mandir was Bauribandhu Giri [1870–1939]*, who was the son of Govinda Giri. He had three sons: Gopinath Giri, Jagannath Giri and Dinabandhu Giri. He also had two daughters named Hade Devi and Pata Devi. Pata Devi was the mother of Brajabandhu Manik who after taking sannyāsa became Śrī Śrīmad Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja.
*Author’s note: Please see Chapter Six of this publication for more information on Bauribandhu Giri.
Śrī Gopinath Giri
Bauribandhu Giri bequeathed the custodianship of the temple to his son Gopinath Giri [1895–1967]. Gopinath Giri handed over the sevā of Gopāla Jīu to his son Ghanasyam Giri.
From the above glimpses into the lives of the custodians of the Gopāla Jīu Temple, we can see that the Giri family maintained deity worship and saṅkīrtana since 1695. Later in this volume we will see how they were also engaged in study of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, bhāgavat-vidhi (the nine processes of devotional service) and pāñcarātrika-vidhi (temple worship). Śravaṇam and kīrtanam, or hearing and chanting, are bhāgavat-vidhi, and arcanam, or deity worship, is pāñcarātrika-vidhi.
Agni-Utsava Day
Ghanaśyāma Giri [the son of Gopīnātha Giri] recalls: “In 1967 at the age of 72 my father Gopīnātha Giri left this world on the agni-utsava day.” [Corresponding to the appearance day of Śrīla Narottama-dāsa Thākura, which was Friday 24, February 1967].
Eighteen years later, at the age of 85 my uncle Jagannātha Giri left this world on the same day of agni-utsava [Corresponding to the appearance day of Śrīla Narottama-dāsa Thākura, which was Tuesday 5 February 1985] in the month of Māgha.
Also Govinda Giri [1845 – 1933], the great grandfather of Gour Govinda Swami, had also passed from this world on the agni-utsava in the month of Māgha.
Our grandfather Bauribandhu Giri left this world amidst a giant kīrtana on Māgha-saptamī, which is also the appearance day of Advaita Ācārya.*
*Author’s note: Please see Chapter Six of this publication for more information on Bauribandhu Giri.
Many of the family members of this famous Vaiṣṇava family left this world on auspicious days with a mighty kīrtana going on.
Śrī Ghanasyam Giri
In November 1993, Ghanasyam Giri [1920 – 2007] passed down the sevā of Gopāla Jīu, including ownership of the land on which the Gopāla Jīu temple is situated, to his cousin Śrī Śrīmad Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja [1929–1996]. Śrī Śrīmad Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja has since established a very wonderful temple on that land, for his most beloved Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gopāla Jīu.
Since 2007 when Ghanasyam Giri left this world his younger brother Damodara Giri has been the caretaker of the Gadāi-Giri village and as such arranges the festivals such as Dola-yātrā, Rāsa-yātrā etc. The Temple President for the Gadāi-Giri ISKCON Temple has nothing to do with the day to day running of the Gadāi-Giri village.
This is the history of the custodians of the village of Gadāi-Giri. The kīrtana party from Gadāi-Giri is most famous and the deity coming from Vṛndāvana – Gopāla Jīu – is also very well known. It was into this esteemed Vaiṣṇava dynasty that Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja was born. The following chapters will reveal his extraordinary life and pastimes. From his childhood and throughout his entire life, the Deities of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Gopāla Jīu were constantly the object of his meditation, devotion and love. Śrīla Gour Govinda Swami Mahārāja kept a diary that he would write in every day without fail. Each entry began with the prayer: “By Gopāla’s mercy …”
