Khirachora Gopinatha Temple

Khirachora Gopinatha Temple is in Remuna. It is a little town 9 km east of Balasore, about halfway between Howrah and Bhubaneswar in Odisha. The name "Remuna" is from the word "Ramaniya" which means very good-looking. "Khirachora" in Odia means Stealer of Milk and Gopinatha means the Divine Consort of Gopis. The reference is to child Krishna's love for milk and milk products.

Lord Gopinatha, flanked by Sri Govinda and Sri Madana Mohana, is made of black stone. Sri Gopinatha stands in bas-relief. Govinda and Madan Mohan, who were brought from Vrindavana in about 1938 by a devotee named "Chaitanya Dasa Babaji", are standing freely. It is said that Sri Rama carved Gopinath with His arrow and that Sita worshiped this deity in Chitrakuta.

During vanvas to show the next avatar vigraha to Sita. King Langula Narasingha Deba, the king of Utkal, brought this deity to Remuna in the 13th century from Chitrakuta. This king arranged to have dug the two big tanks, Brajapokhari and Kutapokhari.

One can get delicious khira here called as Amruta Keli. The Gopinatha khira is a preparation of homemade condensed milk, sugar, and cream, with a sprinkling of raisins. It comes in pots, which are personally tasted by Lord Gopinatha.

Pilgrims from all over India visit all around the year. Local residents visit on every occasion and festivals. Western ISKCON devotees often visit the temple. The Founder Acharya of ISKCON A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada established an ISKCON Center in Toronto, Canada, and named it "New Remuna Dham" - the presiding deity in temple is named Sri Radha Kshira Chora Gopinatha.

Getting There

National Highway 5 and National Highway 60 pass through Balasore. A part of the Golden Quadrilateral project, this highway runs from Chennai to Kolkata. Intra-city transport comprises cycle rickshaws and auto rickshaws. City buses ply in two routes in the city to join the different parts of the city. The bus terminus is at Sahadev Khunta and thousands of private buses ply to hundreds of destinations everyday.

Balasore Railway Station is an important station on the Howrah-Chennai main line of the South Eastern Railway. The distance to Kolkata is approximately 232 km, while the distance to Bhubaneswar is about 208 km. A branch line to Baripada starts from Rupsa, near Balasore. Balasore is connected to all parts of India through trains.

In Balasore, taxis, buses and autos are available easily. There are a number of moderately priced hotels in the town.

The nearest domestic airport is Biju Patnaik International Airport, located in Bhubaneswar, 203 km southeast of Balasore. It is about three and a half hours drive to Biju Patnaik International Airport from Balasore. To make arrangements for a taxi from Airport to Balasore, contact one the taxi operators and travel agents that have counter in the Airport.

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