A Study for Yogi Gopichand

A preparatory sketch by Raja Ravi Varma presumably for the picture of Yogi Gopichand. Gopichand, the son of Raja Triloka chandra of Bengal, became the disciple of Jalandhara Natha and left his kingdom at the instance of his saintly mother Mayanamati. The Mahasanta Vakya contains a short account of his renunciation. The language in which the queen mother exhorted her reluctant son on the vanity of the world and its possessions and on the supreme necessity of taking recourse to a Spiritual Teacher for enlightenment is unrivalled. Seldom in human history has a mother been found to take the initiative in sending her own son away in quest of saving Wisdom - a quest fraught with immense perils and possibility of untold sufferings. The story of Gopichand's renunciation has become classical, and almost every vernacular of northern India has got its own versions of it. In this sketch, Raja Ravi Varma depicts the scene of Gopichand renouncing the world to the discontent and dismay of the ladies of the household. He is seen in a ascetic attire with a rosary in his hand.