Introduction
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Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī maintains that the Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa Deities show us how to serve Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. The Madana-mohana Deities simply establish that “I am Your eternal servant.” With Govinda, however, there is actual acceptance of service, and therefore He is called the functional Deity. The Gopīnātha Deity is Kṛṣṇa as master and proprietor of the  gopīs . He attracted all the  gopīs , or cowherd girls, by the sound of His flute, and when they came, He danced with them. These activities are all described in the Tenth Canto of  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam . These  gopīs  were childhood friends of Kṛṣṇa, and they were all married, for in India the girls are married by the age of twelve. The boys, however, are not married before eighteen, so Kṛṣṇa, who was fifteen or sixteen at the time, was not married. Nonetheless He called these girls from their homes and invited them to dance with Him. That dance is called the  rāsa-ñīā  dance, and it is the most elevated of all the Vṛndāvana pastimes. Kṛṣṇa is therefore called Gopīnātha because He is the beloved master of the  gopīs .
Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī petitions the blessings of Lord Gopīnātha. “May that Gopīnātha, the master of the  gopīs , Kṛṣṇa, bless you. May you become blessed by Gopīnātha.” Just as Kṛṣṇa attracted the  gopīs  by the sweet sound of His flute, the author of  Caitanya-caritāmṛta  prays that He will also attract the reader’s mind by His transcendental vibration.