The advent of the British as a political power in Bengal paved the way for the rise of a new class of rich Bengalis. They not only managed to climb up the social order due to their vast wealth but even became the echelons of the society. However, not content with the acquisition of social prestige they also tried to stake claims on ancestral deities which had remained with certain aristocratic families of the old order, in a bid to wash away their sins. They wanted to acquire these idols by any means, by hook or by crook. Thus, the idols became pawns in this power play. 

Gopinath Jiu of Agradweep was one such idol which became the object of arduous pursuit of none other than Nabakrishna Deb Bahadur, the all-powerful munshi of Warren Hastings and who had amassed a great fortune after receiving a portion of the wealth of Siraj-ud-daula following the Battle of Plassey.
But before that, let us delve into the fascinating tale of Gopinath Jiu.

When Chaitanya Mahaprabhu was on his way to Brindavan, he rested at Agradweep with his disciples. One of the accompanying disciples was Gobindo Ghosh. One day after lunch, Mahaprabhu asked for a mouth-freshner and Ghosh begged for a haritaki from a nearby household. He gave Mahaprabhu half-a-piece of haritaki and saved the other half for the next day. Again, the next day, after his meal Mahaprabhu asked for some mouth-freshner and Gobindo Ghosh immediately gave him the remaining half of the haritaki. A surprised Mahaprabhu asked him how he managed to get one so quickly and he divulged what he had done. Mahaprabhu then told him- he was yet to get over his habits of saving, something only a householder does. Gobindo was asked to stay back at Agradweep and install an idol of Vishnu and bestow his love on the deity just as he did to Mahaprabhu. Thus, Gopinath Jiu came to be installed in Agradweep. 
Though Gopinath belonged to Agradweep ruled by zemindars of Patuli he came under the possession of Raja of Nadia after a quirky incident. Once, some people had died during the annual fair and the Nawab summoned the representatives of zemindars of neighbouring areas and inquired who all were responsible for the mishap. While the representative of Agradweep was too scared to own up, that of Nadia was quick-witted enough to gauge the situation and claimed to be the one responsible; he explained that a large number of people converged every year and so considering the numbers it was a small incident. However, he asked for forgiveness and promised this would not happen again. Those from Agradweep were unable to do anything even as Nadia’s rulers got Gopinath in their possession without much effort.  

When Nabakrishna’s mother died, her last rites were conducted with much fanfare and the Maharaja spent Rs 9 lakh in the ceremony. He also organised a special ceremony- Debsabha, where many famous idols were brought from all corners of Bengal and put on display. This included idols of Radhaballav of Ballavpur, Madanmohan of Bishnupur, Nandadulal Jiu of Sainbona, Shyamsundar of Khardah and of course, Gopinath Jiu of Agradweep. After the ceremony got over, each idol was sent back along with rich jewels and ornaments used to decorate them, save Gopinath Jiu. Apparently, Gopinath Jiu had appeared in the dreams of Nabakrishna asking him to install the idol in his house. Since Krishnachandra had taken Rs 3 lakh as loan from Nabakrishna, the latter was certain of getting the idol by writing off the loan. Moreover, Krishnachandra was also quite grateful to Nabakrishna who used his proximity to the British to get the Raja of Nadia the title of ‘Maharaja Rajendra Bahadur’ as he was sore that the rulers of Burdwan enjoyed the title of ‘Maharajadhiraj Bahadur’ though they were equals.

However, contrary to his expectations, Krishnachandra was unwilling to let go off his Gopinath. He then filed a case against Nabakrishna which went till the Privy Council. The ruling was in favour of Krishnachandra and Nabakrishna was asked to return the idol. However, the wily Nabakrishna had another ploy up his sleeve. He got a very good imitation of the idol made and asked Krishnachandra to choose the real Gopinath Jiu. Krishnachandra was in a dilemma but the priest who worshipped the idol everyday scrutinized both idols and identified the original. Nabakrishna was forced to return the actual idol. But there are two versions of the story. Nabakrishna’s biographer noted that the wily munshi had the last laugh and the actual Gopinath Jiu remained in his possession.
After his death when his sons Gopimohun (adopted) and Rajkrishna fought legal battles for his property, the court ordered that one son will divide the property while the other one will get the privilege to choose it. It is said that Gopimohun, the elder son kept Gopinath Jiu on one side and the best properties on the other. Rajkrishna chose the idol of Gopinath Jiu and the deity is still worshipped in the same household.

A similar tale revolves around the Madanmohan idol of Bishnupur. Purnachandra De wrote Raja Chaitanya Singh of Bishnupur was forced to pledge his Madanmohan idol while borrowing a large sum of money from Gokul Mitra of Bagbazar. Mitra at that time had amassed a large fortune through salt trade and also enjoyed monopoly in supplying fodder for the horses and elephants belonging to the company. He had won the proprietorship of Chandni Chowk Market through a lottery. He was enamoured by the Madanmohan idol and agreed to keep it as a security while lending the Raja of Bishnupur a sum of Rs 1.30 lakh. Although it was agreed that the mortgagor would get back his idol on a particular date after returning the sum, Chaitanya Singh was unable to do so and was forced to give up in writing his favourite Madanmohan idol to Gokul Mitra and departed to Bankura with tears in his eyes. There are quite a few versions of the story. It is said that Gokul Mitra had actually complained against the Raja for his failure to return the money.  According to Prankrishna Dutta, it was Damodar Singh II who pledged the Madanmohan idol for Rs 1 lakh to Gokul Mitra. When he came to take back his idol, Gokul Mitra made another identical idol and asked him to identify the original. Some say the Raja got the actual one back while others say it remained with Gokul Mitra. Since the idol of Radha had remained with Chaitanya Singh, Madanmohan got a new consort. He was installed in his new quarters which included Dolmancha, Rasmancha and a huge portico, said to be the largest among the temples in the city.