Gopastami and Gosthastami

What is Gopastami?

On Gopastami, also called Gosthastami, devotees remember the day Lord Krishna and Lord Balarama were first allowed to take the cows to graze with the cowherd men of Vrindavan. In 2026 the festival falls on Tuesday, 17 November.

Significance

The Srimad-Bhagavatam tells how this came about:

When Lord Rāma and Lord Kṛṣṇa attained the age of paugaṇḍa [six to ten] while living in Vṛndāvana, the cowherd men allowed Them to take up the task of tending the cows.

Srimad-Bhagavatam 10.15.1

In his purport Srila Prabhupada explains that the senior men of Vrindavan, headed by Nanda Maharaja, promoted Krishna from tending the calves to being a regular cowherd boy who cared for the full-grown cows, bulls and oxen. As He walked barefoot through the forest, the Lord blessed Vrindavan with the marks of His lotus feet.

How to observe it

Devotees keep the day by reading or hearing Srimad-Bhagavatam, Tenth Canto, chapter 15. They remember Krishna as Gopala, the keeper of the cows, and they show kindness to cows. This year the day also marks the disappearance of Sri Gadadhara Dasa Gosvami, Sri Dhananjaya Pandita and Sri Srinivasa Acarya.

This holy day falls in Kartik, the month of Lord Damodara, when devotees offer Him a lamp each evening and sing Damodarashtakam. Read about Kartik (Damodara) Month, and offer your own lamp from wherever you are through our Kartik Deep Daan Seva.