Gopal, Gopala - the compassionate and blissful protector of the Earth

Gopal is one of the names of Lord Krishna. Krishna is called Gopal, literally 'the protector of cows'. When Krishna was growing up in Gokulam as the adopted son of King Nanda of the cowherd people, he used to be very fond of taking the cows into the jungle to graze together with the other cowherds. He played a lot and was a source of joy and happiness for the boys. Once he saved the cows and his friends from a demon and took them to the sacred river Yamuna where the cows grazed on the banks. Lord Krishna and his cowherd friends decided to have a picnic on the banks of the river and sat down there to eat. While they were eating, the calves strayed far away in search of green grass and they got lost. So Krishna promised his friends to bring the calves back and he went away in search for them. Lord Brahma, the Creator, wanted to see the divine plays of Krishna and He hid the calves and the cowherds and watched what Lord Krishna would do. After searching all over the jungle, Krishna realized that this was the work of Brahma and He himself became the cowherd boys and the calves and returned home. The mothers of the cowherd boys bathed their boys and fed them, likewise the cows fed their calves.

After one year Brahma came back to Brindavan and found Krishna and his friends playing as usual. He wondered how this could be, since he had hidden the boys and the calves. As he watched them, he found all the boys turned into the form of Lord Vishnu, who is Krishna himself. Seeing this, Krishna removed his divine illusion and Brahma awakened and fell at Krishna's feet and worshipped Him. The original cowherd boys and calves thus reappeared on the banks of the Yamuna. They all asked Lord Krishna where he had gone as they were still waiting for him to start eating their meal. Like this there are many stories of how Lord Krishna protected and saved the cows and the cowherds from many dangers in the jungle. This incident reveals to us the presence of Lord Krishna in all living beings.