Yogi Gopichandra

YOGI GOPICHANDRA: 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 unrivaled. 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 a version of it.

This print from the Ravi Varma Press and derived from a painting by 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 around his neck and in his hand.