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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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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 14.18

মহোৎসব কর, সব বোলাহ ব্রাহ্মণ ।

আজি দিন ভাল,—করিব নামকরণ ॥ ১৮ ॥

mahotsava kara, saba bolāha brāhmaṇa

āji dina bhāla, — kariba nāma-karaṇa

Translation

“I propose to perform a name-giving ceremony. We should observe a festival and call for the brāhmaṇas because today is very auspicious.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Celebrate With Worship and Prasādam

  1. 1

    The proposal is to hold a name-giving festival and invite the brāhmaṇas on an auspicious day.

  2. 2

    Giving a child a name is among the purificatory processes called daśa-vidha-saṁskāra.

  3. 3

    Such a festival should include worshiping Nārāyaṇa and distributing prasādam, chiefly among the brāhmaṇas.

Key points from the purport
  • It is a Vedic principle to observe a festival in connection with Nārāyaṇa and brāhmaṇas.
  • Giving a child a particular name is among the purificatory processes known as daśa-vidha-saṁskāra, and on the day of such a ceremony one should observe a festival by worshiping Nārāyaṇa and distributing prasādam, chiefly among the brāhmaṇas.

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

Parental tenderness and play. Nimāi’s childhood alternates affection, mischief, and revelations.

The mood of Ādi 14 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 14: Lord Caitanya’s Childhood Pastimes

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

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has given a summary of this chapter in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya: “In the fourteenth chapter there is a description of how Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu enjoyed His childhood pastimes — crawling, crying, eating dirt and giving intelligence to His mother, favoring a brāhmaṇa guest, riding on the shoulders of two thieves and misleading them to His own house, and, on the plea of being diseased, taking prasādam in the house of Hiraṇya and Jagadīśa on the Ekādaśī day.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 14
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. mahotsavaa festival
  2. karaobserve
  3. sabaall
  4. bolāhacall
  5. brāhmaṇathe brāhmaṇas
  6. ājitoday
  7. dinaday
  8. bhālaauspicious
  9. karibaI shall perform
  10. nāma-karaṇathe name-giving ceremony
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Kīrtana community · A movement of shared hearts

    Devotional community as a living network of branches, service, festivals, care, and collective chanting. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “festival”

  • 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.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How could worship and sharing prasādam become more central to your celebrations?

Practice

Write down one way to include worship of Nārāyaṇa or distribution of prasādam in your next celebration.

Live this todayCelebrate With Worship and PrasādamThis 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 14.18? Get an answer from the verses themselves.