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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 17.130

প্রভু আজ্ঞা দিল—যাহ করহ কীর্তন ।

মুঞি সংহারিমু আজি সকল যবন ॥ ১৩০ ॥

prabhu ājñā dila — yāha karaha kīrtana

muñi saṁhārimu āji sakala yavana

Translation

Lord Caitanya ordered, “Go perform saṅkīrtana! Today I shall kill all the Muslims!”

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Overcome opposition with reason, not violence

  1. 1

    Lord Caitanya ordered the devotees to perform saṅkīrtana. The purport explains His response as a movement of nonviolent civil disobedience to Chand Kazi’s order.

  2. 2

    His forceful words are explained as overcoming demoniac behavior with reason and argument, not committing violence against people.

  3. 3

    Śrīla Prabhupāda instructs the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement to follow this example when obstacles arise. Lord Caitanya disobeyed the Kazi’s order but subdued him with reason and argument.

Key points from the purport
  • Gandhi is known for having started the movement of nonviolent civil disobedience in India, but about five hundred years before him, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu started His movement of nonviolent civil disobedience to the order of Chand Kazi.
  • Following in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, whenever there are obstacles the Hare Kṛṣṇa movement should kill the opposition with reason and argument and thus stop their demoniac behavior.
  • We should therefore follow in the footsteps of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who disobeyed the order of Chand Kazi but subdued him with reason and argument.

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

Public courage and ecstatic joy. The saṅkīrtana movement confronts opposition and moves toward recognition and expansion.

The mood of Ādi 17 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 17: The Pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His Youth

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

When Śrī Kṛṣṇa assumed the form of the four-armed Nārāyaṇa, the gopīs showed their respect, but they were not very interested in Him. In the ecstatic love of the gopīs, all worshipable forms but Kṛṣṇa are rejected.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 17
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. prabhuthe Lord
  2. ājñā dilaordered
  3. yāhago
  4. karahaand perform
  5. kīrtanasaṅkīrtana, chanting of the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra
  6. muñiI
  7. saṁhārimushall kill
  8. ājitoday
  9. sakalaall
  10. yavanathe Muslims
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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”

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 can I answer opposition with calm reasoning rather than aggression?

Practice

Write one calm, reasoned response to a disagreement you are facing today.

Live this todayOvercome opposition with reason, not violenceThis 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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