Khirachora Gopinath Temple

Getting there

• By air

  The nearest airport is Biju Patnaik Airport in Bhubaneswar, about 200 km from Balasore town.

• By train

  Balasore Railway station is 6 km from Remuna.

• By road

  National Highway 5 runs to the start of Remuna. Local buses, autos and trekkers run from Balasore bus stand, 5 km away.

Why devotees come here

Khirachora Gopinath Temple stands in Remuna, Balasore district, Odisha, and is one of the 108 Abhimana Kshethrams of the Vaishnava tradition. The main deity, Gopinatha, is made of black stone. The name Khirachora means stealer of condensed milk, after a legend about the deity.

The temple is one of the 108 Abhimana Kshethrams of the Vaishnava tradition. The main deity is Gopinatha, made of black stone and carved in bas-relief. Legend says that in a dream Gopinatha told the temple priest to give a hidden pot of condensed milk to the devotee Madhavendra Puri. The priest then told him the deity had stolen it for him. According to the priest, the evening offering is sweetened condensed milk in twelve earthen pots.

King Langula Narasingha Deva of Utkala brought the deity to Remuna in the 13th century, from Chitrakuta. He had two large tanks, Brajapokhari and Kutapokhari, dug at the temple. The temple is built in the Utkaliya style of temple architecture and is surrounded by a few mathas and temples. Govinda and Madana Mohana, who stand beside Gopinatha, were brought from Vrindavana in about 1938 by a devotee named Chaitanya Dasa Babaji.

Festivals

• Check with the templeKrishna Janmashtami

  The festival listed for this temple. Ask at the temple for dates.

Tips for your visit

• Kheera Bhoga and Abadha prasada are the temple's famous offerings.
• A Times of India headline reports that devotees throng the temple.

Questions people ask