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Study a Verse

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 1.84Ādi 1.87

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Texts Ādi 1.85-86

ব্রজে যে বিহরে পূর্বে কৃষ্ণ–বলরাম ।

কোটি সূর্যচন্দ্র জিনি দোঁহার নিজধাম ॥ ৮৫ ॥

সেই দুই জগতেরে হইয়া সদয় ।

গৌড়দেশে পূর্ব–শৈলে করিল উদয় ॥ ৮৬ ॥

vraje ye vihare pūrve kṛṣṇa-balarāma

koṭī-sūrya-candra jini doṅhāra nija-dhāma

Translation

Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma, the Personalities of Godhead, who formerly appeared in Vṛndāvana and were millions of times more effulgent than the sun and moon, have arisen over the eastern horizon of Gauḍadeśa [West Bengal], being compassionate for the fallen state of the world.

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.

Divine Compassion for the Fallen World

  1. 1

    Śrī Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma are the Personalities of Godhead who formerly appeared in Vṛndāvana.

  2. 2

    They are millions of times more effulgent than the sun and moon.

  3. 3

    They have arisen over the eastern horizon of Gauḍadeśa out of compassion for the fallen state of the world.

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:

Then the next three Sanskrit verses describe the principal Deities of Vṛndāvana, namely, Śrī Rādhā-Madana-mohana, Śrī Rādhā-Govindadeva and Śrī Rādhā-Gopīnāthajī. The first of the fourteen verses is a symbolic representation of the Supreme Truth, and the entire first chapter is in actuality devoted to this single verse, which describes Lord Caitanya in His six different transcendental expansions.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 1
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. vrajein Vraja (Vṛndāvana)
  2. yewho
  3. vihareplayed
  4. pūrveformerly
  5. kṛṣṇaLord Kṛṣṇa
  6. balarāmaLord Balarāma
  7. koṭīmillions
  8. sūryasuns
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Dainya & humility · Making room for grace

    The humility expressed by the author, devotees, transformed scholars, renunciants, and the Śikṣāṣṭaka. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “fallen”

  • Vraja-smaraṇa · Remembrance of Vṛndāvana

    The remembered sweetness of Vraja that colors Mahāprabhu’s pilgrimage, Ratha-yātrā, and later states of separation. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “vṛndāvana”

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

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does Their compassion for the fallen world give you hope?

Practice

Spend a quiet minute reflecting on the compassion described in this translation.

Live this todayDivine Compassion for the Fallen WorldThis 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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