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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 16: The Pastimes of the Lord in His Childhood and Youth
Ādi 16.81Ādi 16.83

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 16.82

অম্বুজমম্বুনি জাতং ক্বচিদপি ন জাতমম্বুজাদম্বু ।

মুরভিদি তদ্বিপরীতং পাদম্ভোজান্মহানদী জাতা ॥ ৮২ ॥

ambujam ambuni jātaṁ kvacid api na jātam ambujād ambu

mura-bhidi tad-viparītaṁ pādāmbhojān mahā-nadī jātā

Translation

“ ‘Everyone knows that lotus flowers grow in the water but water never grows from a lotus. All such contradictions, however, are wonderfully possible in Kṛṣṇa: the great river Ganges has grown from His lotus feet.’

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.

Contradictions Are Wonderfully Possible in Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    Lotus flowers grow in water, but water never grows from a lotus.

  2. 2

    Such contradictions are wonderfully possible in Kṛṣṇa.

  3. 3

    The great river Ganges has grown from His lotus feet.

How it feels

Grief and transformed pride. Lakṣmīdevī’s departure brings sorrow; Keśava Kāśmīrī’s pride yields to surrender.

The mood of Ādi 16 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 16: The Pastimes of the Lord in His Childhood and Youth

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

This chapter also describes the Lord’s argument with Keśava Kāśmīrī, the celebrated scholar, and the Lord’s criticism of his prayer glorifying mother Ganges. In this prayer the Lord found five kinds of literary ornaments and five kinds of literary faults, thus defeating the paṇḍita.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 16
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. ambujamlotus flower
  2. ambuniin the water
  3. jātamis grown
  4. kvacitat any time
  5. apicertainly
  6. nanot
  7. jātamgrown
  8. ambujātfrom a lotus flower
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Śaraṇāgati · Taking shelter

    Turning toward Kṛṣṇa through shelter, surrender, dependence on guru, and unconditional devotional fidelity. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “lotus feet”

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

What does the origin of the Ganges invite me to appreciate about Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Read the translation slowly once, giving special attention to the words “wonderfully possible in Kṛṣṇa.”

Live this todayContradictions Are Wonderfully Possible in KṛṣṇaThis 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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