Ksira means “sweet rice” and chora means “thief”. So, the name “Ksira-Chora” translates into, “one who steals sweet rice”. This famous Deity of Lord Krishna in Remuna was given this name after an incredible incident which occurred hundreds of years ago wherein the Deity actually stole a small pot of sweet rice for his devotee, Madhavendra Puri.
Madhavendra Puri, a great 14 century saint in our lineage, had visited the ancient temple in Remuna and saw the priests (pujaris) offering small pots of sweet rice to the Deity. In his heart, he desired to taste the sweet rice so that he could create a similar preparation for his personal worship of his own Deity. Seeing the genuine sincerity in his heart, the Deity of the temple secretly hid one of the earthen pots of sweet rice offered every night and then appeared in the dream of the priest (pujari) and instructed him to locate the hidden pot and give it to Madhavendra Puri. In this way, the legend grew of the Gopinatha Deity which stole sweet rice for his devotee and thus Deity became known as “Ksira-Chora Gopinatha”!
Many may not know this, but since our Deities were given their name in the early 1970s, sweet rice has been offered on our altar every day! On Sunday May 26, 2019 at 4:30pm, we are celebrating our annual festival called the “Sweet Rice Festival”. We will be honouring Madhavendra Puri on this day along with relishing the wonderful story of Ksira-Chora Gopinatha!
On this occasion, our Deities are offered special sweet rice in hand painted pots, painted by members of our community. Devotees will be able to purchase these prasadam pots to take home.
