Gopa (caste)
Gopa or Gop or Gope is a synonym of the Ahir (Yadav) caste found in India and Nepal. in the Mahabharata, Ahir, Gopa, Gopal and Yadavas are all synonyms. The Amarakośa mentions Gopa, Gopāla, Gosaṁkhya, Godhuk and Ballava as the synonyms for Abhira and says that the village or place where Abhiras lived is named as Ghosha or Abhirapalli. The modern Ahirs are the descendants of the Abhiras of ancient times. The Abhiras were the same as the Gopas or Ballavas of Mathura becomes evident from the fact that the Padma Purana relates that Vishnu informed the Abhiras: I shall be born amongst you, O Abhiras, at Mathura in my eighth birth.