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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 13: The Advent of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
Ādi 13.122Ādi 13.124

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 13.123

পাইয়া মানুষ জন্ম, যে না শুনে গৌরগুণ,

হেন জন্ম তার ব্যর্থ হৈল ।

পাইয়া অমৃতধুনী, পিয়ে বিযগর্ত–পানি,

জন্মিয়া সে কেনে নাহি মৈল ॥ ১২৩ ॥

pāiyā mānuṣa janma, ye nā śune gaura-guṇa,

hena janma tāra vyartha haila

pāiyā amṛtadhunī, piye viṣa-garta-pāni,

janmiyā se kene nāhi maila

Translation

Anyone who attains a human body but does not take to the cult of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is baffled in his opportunity. Amṛtadhunī is a flowing river of the nectar of devotional service. If after getting a human body one drinks the water in a poison pit of material happiness instead of the water of such a river, it would be better for him not to have lived, but to have died long ago.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Choose the Nectar of Devotional Service

  1. 1

    A human body offers an opportunity to take to the path of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Not accepting this opportunity means wasting it.

  2. 2

    Amṛtadhunī is a flowing river of the nectar of devotional service. The translation contrasts this nectar with the poison pit of material happiness.

  3. 3

    Choosing material happiness instead of devotional service defeats the purpose of human life. The verse uses strong language to impress upon us the value of this opportunity.

Key points from the purport
  • In this connection Śrīmat Prabodhānanda Sarasvatī has composed the following verses in his Caitanya-candrāmṛta (37, 36, 34):

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

Jubilation and hope. The Lord appears in Navadvīpa; the theological promise becomes a lived story.

The mood of Ādi 13 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 13: The Advent of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

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

Nīlāmbara Cakravartī, who was a great astrologer, immediately prepared a horoscope, and by astrological calculation he saw that the child was a great personality. This chapter describes the symptoms of this great personality.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 13
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. pāiyā mānuṣa janmaanyone who has gotten the form of a human body
  2. yewho
  3. nādoes not
  4. śunehear
  5. gaura-guṇathe qualities of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu
  6. hena janmasuch a birth
  7. tārahis
  8. vyartha hailabecomes useless
3

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”

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

Where am I choosing material happiness over the opportunity for devotional service?

Practice

Today, set aside one small material pleasure and use that time for devotional service.

Live this todayChoose the Nectar of Devotional ServiceThis 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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