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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

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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 17: The Pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His Youth
Ādi 17.13Ādi 17.15

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 17.14

তবে চতুর্ভুজ হৈলা, তিন অঙ্গ বক্র ।

দুই হস্তে বেণু বাজায়, দুয়ে শঙ্খ–চক্র ॥ ১৪ ॥

tabe catur-bhuja hailā, tina aṅga vakra

dui haste veṇu bājāya, duye śaṅkha-cakra

Translation

Thereafter the Lord showed Him His four-armed form, standing in a three-curved posture. With two hands He played upon a flute, and in the other two He carried a conchshell and disc.

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.

The Lord Reveals His Four-Armed Form

  1. 1

    The Lord next showed His four-armed form.

  2. 2

    He stood in a three-curved posture and played a flute with two hands.

  3. 3

    In His other two hands, He carried a conchshell and disc.

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
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. tabethereafter
  2. catuḥ-bhujafour-armed
  3. hailābecame
  4. tinathree
  5. aṅgabody
  6. vakracurved
  7. dui hastein two hands
  8. veṇu bājāyablowing the flute
  9. duyein two (hands)
  10. śaṅkha-cakraconchshell and disc
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What draws my attention in this description of the Lord’s four-armed form?

Practice

Spend a quiet moment recalling the Lord’s posture and what He held in His four hands.

Live this todayThe Lord Reveals His Four-Armed FormThis 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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