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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 14.51

আপনি চন্দন পরি’ পরেন ফুলমালা ।

নৈবেদ্য কাড়িয়া খা’ন—সন্দেশ, চাল, কলা ॥ ৫১ ॥

āpani candana pari’ parena phula-mālā

naivedya kāḍiyā khā’na — sandeśa, cāla, kalā

Translation

Without the permission of the girls, the Lord would take the sandalwood pulp and smear it on His own body, put the flower garlands on His neck, and snatch and eat all the offerings of sweetmeats, rice and bananas.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Mercifully Accepts the Offerings

  1. 1

    Without the girls’ permission, the Lord applied their sandalwood pulp to His body and placed their flower garlands around His neck.

  2. 2

    He snatched and ate the sweetmeats, rice and bananas. The purport explains that offerings to deities outside the home are generally raw rice, bananas and sweetmeats rather than cooked food.

  3. 3

    Out of causeless mercy, He took the offerings and told the girls to worship Him rather than the demigods. The purport states that worship of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is recommended in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Key points from the purport
  • According to the system of worship, when something is offered to deities outside one’s home, it is generally not cooked food but raw rice, bananas and sweetmeats.
  • Out of His causeless mercy, the Lord would snatch the offerings from the girls and eat them, admonishing the girls not to worship the demigods but to worship Him.
  • This worship of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is recommended in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam:

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:

The chapter further describes how He displayed Himself as a naughty boy, how when His mother fainted He brought a coconut to her on His head, how He joked with girls of the same age on the banks of the Ganges, how He accepted worshipful paraphernalia from Śrīmatī Lakṣmīdevī, how He sat down in a garbage pit and instructed His mother in transcendental knowledge, how He left the pit on the order of His mother, and how He dealt with His father with full affection.”
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 14
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. āpaniHimself
  2. candanapulp of sandalwood
  3. pari’smearing over the body
  4. parenatakes
  5. phula-mālāthe flower garlands
  6. naivedyaoffering of food
  7. kāḍiyāsnatching
  8. khā’nabegins to eat
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Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • 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”

  • 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: “cooked”

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 the purport’s explanation of causeless mercy shape your understanding of His actions?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer of worship to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu today.

Live this todayThe Lord Mercifully Accepts the OfferingsThis 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 14.51? Get an answer from the verses themselves.