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When the townspeople heard of Gopala’s arrival they were struck
with wonder. They went to see the Lord and offered their respect-
ful obeisances to Him. Everyone was very pleased to see Gopala’s
beauty. Thus in the presence of the townspeople, Lord Gopala bore
witness that the elderly Brahmin had indeed offered his daughter
to the young Brahmin. Soon afterwards the marriage ceremony
was duly performed.

When the King of that country heard of this wonderful story, he
also came to see Gopala, and constructed a nice temple for the
Lord. Although some time later the Deity of Lord Gopala was
moved from Vidyanagara to the town of Cuttak in Orissa, He is still
visible for all to see, and is famous as Sakshi-Gopala (the witness
Gopala).

Bhakti Vinod Thakur Appearance day Celebrations
Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura (1838-1914) is a prominent preceptor
acharya in our succession of spiritual masters and disciples coming
from Lord Krishna. He was a pioneering spiritual leader, a house-
holder, a magistrate working in colonial India under the British
rule, a prolific preacher, writer, and poet. He wrote volumes of
books reintroducing the pure teachings of Lord Chaitanya at a time
when those teachings had practically become lost. He composed
hundreds of devotional songs glorifying Krishna to uplift the con-
sciousness of the suffering people of this world. He corresponded
with philosophers, theologians, leaders, scholars, and professors of
his time and sent books, including The Life and Precepts of Lord
Chaitanya, to university libraries in foreign countries, planting the
seeds for a worldwide movement of Krishna consciousness. Bhak-
tivinoda Thakura discovered and excavated the birthplace of Lord
Chaitanya. Along with his devoted wife, Bhagavati Devi, he raised