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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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Ādi-līlā · 17 chapters

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 ›

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 13.32

নগরে নগরে ভ্রমে কীর্তন করিয়া ।

ভাসাইল ত্রিভুবন প্রেমভক্তি দিয়া ॥ ৩২ ॥

nagare nagare bhrame kīrtana kariyā

bhāsāila tri-bhuvana prema-bhakti diyā

Translation

The saṅkīrtana movement went on from one part of the town to another, as the Lord wandered everywhere performing kīrtana. In this way He inundated the whole world by distributing love of Godhead.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Saṅkīrtana Spreads Love of Kṛṣṇa Everywhere

  1. 1

    The Lord wandered from one part of town to another performing kīrtana. In this way He inundated the whole world by distributing love of Godhead.

  2. 2

    Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself. Just as He set the cosmic manifestation in motion, He set the saṅkīrtana movement in motion with the desire that it spread throughout the universe.

  3. 3

    The Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement continues that same motion and is spreading throughout the world. The purport says it will gradually spread throughout the universe, bringing everyone into an ocean of love of Kṛṣṇa.

Key points from the purport
  • One may raise the question how all three worlds became inundated with love of Kṛṣṇa, since Caitanya Mahāprabhu performed kīrtana only in the Navadvīpa area.
  • Similarly, since the saṅkīrtana movement was first set in motion five hundred years ago by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s desire that it spread all over the universe, the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, in continuity of that same motion, is now spreading all over the world, and in this way it will gradually spread all over the universe.
  • With the spread of the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement, everyone will merge in an ocean of love of Kṛṣṇa.

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:

During this time, Caitanya Mahāprabhu toured southern India, went to Vṛndāvana, returned from Vṛndāvana and preached the saṅkīrtana movement. A learned brāhmaṇa named Upendra Miśra, who resided in the district of Śrīhaṭṭa, was the father of Jagannātha Miśra, who came to Navadvīpa to study under the direction of Nīlāmbara Cakravartī and then settled there after marrying Nīlāmbara Cakravartī’s daughter, Śacīdevī.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 13
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. nagare nagarein different parts of the town
  2. bhramewanders
  3. kīrtanachanting
  4. kariyāperforming
  5. bhāsāilainundated
  6. tri-bhuvanaall the three worlds
  7. prema-bhaktilove of Godhead
  8. diyādistributing
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Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Nāma-saṅkīrtana · The holy name shared together

    Chanting the holy names as the yuga-dharma, the Lord’s public movement, and the opening prayer of Śikṣāṣṭaka. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “saṅkīrtana”, “kīrtana”

  • Prema · Love of Godhead

    The culminating devotional purpose that unites the narration: bestowed, cultivated, taught, celebrated, and tasted. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “love of godhead”, “love of krsna”

  • Audārya · Love that moves outward

    The freely offered gift of bhakti and prema, especially through nāma-saṅkīrtana and Mahāprabhu’s compassionate dealings. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “distributing”

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

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does knowing that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is Kṛṣṇa Himself deepen your appreciation of saṅkīrtana?

Practice

Spend a few minutes chanting today, remembering His desire to distribute love of Kṛṣṇa everywhere.

Live this todaySaṅkīrtana Spreads Love of Kṛṣṇa EverywhereThis 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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