1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

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

Or browse by līlā and chapter

Ādi-līlā · 17 chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17

How to study this verse, in six steps

1Say the verse. Read the transliteration aloud, slowly.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each word and its meaning.
3Read the translation. Ask: what is happening here, and who is it about?
4Read the purport slowly. Read it twice. Don't rush.
5See Lord Caitanya as Kṛṣṇa. Remember who is acting in the pastime.
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 1.3 Ādi 1.5

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 1.4

অনর্পিতচরীং চিরাৎ করুণয়াবতীর্ণঃ কলৌ

সমর্পয়িতুমুন্নতোজ্জ্বলরসাং স্বভক্তিশ্রিয়ম্‌ ।

হরিঃ পুরটসুন্দরদ্যুতিকদম্বসন্দীপিতঃ

সদা হৃদয়কন্দরে স্ফুরতু বঃ শচীনন্দনঃ ॥ ৪ ॥

anarpita-carīṁ cirāt karuṇayāvatīrṇaḥ kalau

samarpayitum unnatojjvala-rasāṁ sva-bhakti-śriyam

hariḥ puraṭa-sundara-dyuti-kadamba-sandīpitaḥ

sadā hṛdaya-kandare sphuratu vaḥ śacī-nandanaḥ

Translation

May the Supreme Lord who is known as the son of Śrīmatī Śacī-devī be transcendentally situated in the innermost chambers of your heart. Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He has appeared in the Age of Kali by His causeless mercy to bestow what no incarnation has ever offered before: the most sublime and radiant mellow of devotional service, the mellow of conjugal love.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Supreme Lord’s Unprecedented Gift of Love

1
The verse prays that the Supreme Lord, known as the son of Śrīmatī Śacī-devī, may dwell in the innermost chambers of your heart.
2
Resplendent with the radiance of molten gold, He appeared in the Age of Kali by His causeless mercy.
3
He came to bestow what no incarnation had offered before: the most sublime and radiant mellow of devotional service, the mellow of conjugal love.

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

Ādi 1: The Spiritual Masters

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

Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī and Śrīla Sanātana Gosvāmī are the two principal followers of Śrīla Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, who acted as the most confidential servitor of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa Caitanya Mahāprabhu, known as Viśvambhara in His early life. A direct disciple of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī was Śrīla Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in Ādi 1

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

anarpitanot bestowed
carīmhaving been formerly
cirātfor a long time
karuṇayāby causeless mercy
avatīrṇaḥdescended
kalauin the Age of Kali
samarpayitumto bestow
unnataelevated

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

Sevā · Love translated into service
Devotional service expressed through cleansing, caring, teaching, honoring others, and living as Kṛṣṇa’s servant. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “service”, “offered”
Bhāva & rasa · The language of sacred feeling
Transcendental devotional moods and relationships, discussed explicitly in Rāmānanda’s dialogue and the teachings on prema. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “mellow”, “conjugal”
Kṛpā & transformation · Mercy changes a life
Transformative encounters with grace, from scholars and travelers to renunciants and householders. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “mercy”

Concept links are an editorial study map; only the verse is the text itself.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does the prayer for the Lord to dwell in your innermost heart invite you to reflect on?

Practice

Repeat the verse’s prayer today, asking the son of Śrīmatī Śacī-devī to dwell in your heart.

Live this todayThe Supreme Lord’s Unprecedented Gift of LoveThis 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.

Ask Caitanya CaritamrtaHave a question about CC Ādi 1.4? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

Next in Learn · 5 of 9 · 2 minAsk Caitanya CaritamrtaBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the book's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnLīlās & chapters