गोप

Sanskrit

Alternative scripts

Alternative scripts

• গোপ (Assamese script)
• ᬕᭀᬧ (Balinese script)
• গোপ (Bengali script)
• 𑰐𑰺𑰢 (Bhaiksuki script)
• 𑀕𑁄𑀧 (Brahmi script)
• ဂေါပ (Burmese script)
• ગોપ (Gujarati script)
• ਗੋਪ (Gurmukhi script)
• 𑌗𑍋𑌪 (Grantha script)
• ꦒꦺꦴꦥ (Javanese script)
• 𑂏𑂷𑂣 (Kaithi script)
• ಗೋಪ (Kannada script)
• គោប (Khmer script)
• ໂຄປ (Lao script)
• ഗോപ (Malayalam script)
• ᡤᠣᢒᠠ (Manchu script)
• 𑘐𑘻𑘢 (Modi script)
• ᠺᠣᠸᠠᢒᠠ (Mongolian script)
• 𑦰𑧜𑧂 (Nandinagari script)
• 𑐐𑑀𑐥 (Newa script)
• ଗୋପ (Odia script)
• ꢔꣂꢦ (Saurashtra script)
• 𑆓𑆾𑆥 (Sharada script)
• 𑖐𑖺𑖢 (Siddham script)
• ගොප (Sinhalese script)
• 𑩞𑩕𑩰 (Soyombo script)
• 𑚌𑚴𑚞 (Takri script)
• கே³ாப (Tamil script)
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• โคป (Thai script)
• གོ་པ (Tibetan script)
• 𑒑𑒼𑒣 (Tirhuta script)
• 𑨍𑨆𑨞 (Zanabazar Square script)

Etymology

Etymology tree

Proto-Indo-European *gʷṓws

Proto-Indo-Iranian *gā́wš

Sanskrit गो (go)

Proto-Indo-European *peh₂-

Sanskrit पा (pā)

Sanskrit -प (-pa)

Sanskrit गोप (gopa)

From गो (go, “cow; earth”) +‎ -प (-pa, “protector”).

Pronunciation

• (Vedic) IPA^(key): /ɡɐw.pɐ́/
• (Classical Sanskrit) IPA^(key): /ɡoː.pɐ/
• Hyphenation: गो‧प

Noun

गोप • (gopá) stem, m (feminine गोपी)

1. cowherd, herdsman, milkman

   Synonym: गोपाल (gopāla)

   • c. 800 CE – 950 CE, Nārāyaṇa, Hitopadeśa 2.112.15:

     सा च गोपी तेन गोपेन पुनः पृष्टोवाच अरे पाप को मां महासती विरूपयितुं समर्थः ।

     sā ca gopī tena gopena punaḥ pṛṣṭovāca are pāpa ko māṃ mahāsatī virūpayituṃ samarthaḥ.

     And that cowherdess, the highly virtuous woman, asked the cowherd, O wicked one, who has the power to defile me?

2. protector, guardian
   • c. 1700 BCE – 1200 BCE, Ṛgveda 5.62.9:

     यद्बंहि॑ष्ठं॒ नाति॒विधे॑ सुदानू॒ अच्छि॑द्रं॒ शर्म॑ भुवनस्य गोपा ।
     तेन॑ नो मित्रावरुणावविष्टं॒ सिषा॑सन्तो जिगी॒वांसः॑ स्याम ॥

     yádbáṃhiṣṭhaṃ nā́tivídhe sudānū ácchidraṃ śárma bhuvanasya gopā.
     téna no mitrāvaruṇāvaviṣṭaṃ síṣāsanto jigīvā́ṃsaḥ syāma.

     Bountiful guardians of the world! the shelter that is impenetrable, strongest, flawless, Aid us with that, O Varuṇa and Mitra, and when we long to win may we be victors.

Declension

Masculine a-stem declension of गोप

	singular	dual	plural
nominative	गोपः (gopáḥ)	गोपौ (gopaú) गोपा¹ (gopā́¹)	गोपाः (gopā́ḥ) गोपासः¹ (gopā́saḥ¹)
vocative	गोप (gópa)	गोपौ (gópau) गोपा¹ (gópā¹)	गोपाः (gópāḥ) गोपासः¹ (gópāsaḥ¹)
accusative	गोपम् (gopám)	गोपौ (gopaú) गोपा¹ (gopā́¹)	गोपान् (gopā́n)
instrumental	गोपेन (gopéna)	गोपाभ्याम् (gopā́bhyām)	गोपैः (gopaíḥ) गोपेभिः¹ (gopébhiḥ¹)
dative	गोपाय (gopā́ya)	गोपाभ्याम् (gopā́bhyām)	गोपेभ्यः (gopébhyaḥ)
ablative	गोपात् (gopā́t)	गोपाभ्याम् (gopā́bhyām)	गोपेभ्यः (gopébhyaḥ)
genitive	गोपस्य (gopásya)	गोपयोः (gopáyoḥ)	गोपानाम् (gopā́nām)
locative	गोपे (gopé)	गोपयोः (gopáyoḥ)	गोपेषु (gopéṣu)

• ¹Vedic

Descendants

• Pali: gopa
• Prakrit: 𑀕𑁄𑀯 (gova)
  • Eastern:
    • Odia: ଗୋଇ (goi)
  • Insular:
    • Dhivehi: ގޮވި (govi)
    • Sinhalese: ගොවුවා (gowuwā), ගෙවියා (gewiyā)

References

• Apte, Vaman Shivram (1890) “गोप”, in The practical Sanskrit-English dictionary, Poona: Prasad Prakashan, page 664
• Monier Williams (1899) “गोप”, in A Sanskrit–English Dictionary, […], new edition, Oxford: At the Clarendon Press, →OCLC, page 368.
• Hellwig, Oliver (2010–2025) “gopa”, in DCS - The Digital Corpus of Sanskrit, Berlin, Germany.
• Arthur Anthony Macdonell (1893) “गोप”, in A practical Sanskrit dictionary with transliteration, accentuation, and etymological analysis throughout, London: Oxford University Press, page 86
• Turner, Ralph Lilley (1969–1985) “gopa”, in A Comparative Dictionary of the Indo-Aryan Languages, London: Oxford University Press, page 230