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Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.

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How to study this verse, in six steps
  1. 1Say the verse. Read the transliteration aloud, slowly.
  2. 2Read the word meanings. Go through each word and its meaning.
  3. 3Read the translation. Ask: what is happening here, and who is it about?
  4. 4Read the purport slowly. Read it twice. Don't rush.
  5. 5See Lord Caitanya as Kṛṣṇa. Remember who is acting in the pastime.
  6. 6Take one thing into your day. Note one point and one practice.
Read the full guide: how to read Caitanya Caritamrta ›
Ādi-līlā · Chapter 1: The Spiritual Masters
Ādi 1.1Ādi 1.3

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 1.2

বন্দে শ্রীকৃষ্ণচৈতন্যনিত্যানন্দৌ সহোদিতৌ ।

গৌড়োদয়ে পুষ্পবন্তৌ চিত্রৌ শন্দৌ তমোনুদৌ ॥ ২ ॥

vande śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanya-

nityānandau sahoditau

gauḍodaye puṣpavantau

citrau śan-dau tamo-nudau

Translation

I offer my respectful obeisances unto Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, who are like the sun and moon. They have arisen simultaneously on the horizon of Gauḍa to dissipate the darkness of ignorance and thus wonderfully bestow benediction upon all.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Sun and Moon That Dispel Ignorance

  1. 1

    Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda are compared to the sun and moon.

  2. 2

    They have arisen simultaneously on the horizon of Gauḍa to dissipate the darkness of ignorance.

  3. 3

    Their appearance wonderfully bestows benediction upon all.

Connected verses· 1

Quoted in the purport ofSB 7.15.46

As stated in the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Ādi 1.2): “I offer my respectful obeisances unto Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, who are like the sun and moon.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Reverence and gratitude. The narrator takes shelter of the guru-paramparā; receptivity begins with humility.

The mood of Ādi 1 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 1: The Spiritual Masters

From Śrīla Prabhupāda's chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is none other than the combined form of Śrī Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. He is the life of those devotees who strictly follow in the footsteps of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 1
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. vandeI offer respectful obeisances
  2. śrī-kṛṣṇa-caitanyato Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya
  3. nityānandauand to Lord Nityānanda
  4. saha-uditausimultaneously arisen
  5. gauḍa-udayeon the eastern horizon of Gauḍa
  6. puṣpavantauthe sun and moon together
  7. citrauwonderful
  8. śam-daubestowing benediction
  9. tamaḥ-nudaudissipating darkness
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does the image of the sun and moon dispelling ignorance mean to you?

Practice

Offer respectful obeisances to Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya and Lord Nityānanda, remembering Their gift of light.

4

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

1 lecture given on it · quoted in 1 more lecture. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 1 other lecture

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayThe Sun and Moon That Dispel IgnoranceThis verse's lesson: one practice and one question for today

Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.

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