1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min
Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.
Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 17.159
প্রভু কহে,—বেদে কহে গোবধ নিষেধ ।
অতএব হিন্দুমাত্র না করে গোবধ ॥ ১৫৯ ॥
prabhu kahe, — vede kahe go-vadha niṣedha
ataeva hindu-mātra nā kare go-vadha
Refuting the Kazi’s statement, the Lord immediately replied, “The Vedas clearly enjoin that cows should not be killed. Therefore every Hindu, whoever he may be, avoids indulging in cow-killing.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioThree study points drawn from the translation and purport.
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu refuted the Kazi’s statement: the Vedas forbid cow-killing. The cow is considered a mother.
The purport describes a restricted concession for meat-eaters involving a goat before the goddess Kālī. It does not sanction buying meat from markets or maintaining regular slaughterhouses to satisfy the tongue.
The Bhagavad-gītā states that the duties of vaiśyas include agriculture, trade and protection of cows. Thus the claim that Vedic scriptures permit cow-killing is false.
Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.
The purport of CC Ādi 17.159 quotesBG 18.44
In the Bhagavad-gītā (18.44) there is a clear injunction that cows should be protected: kṛṣi-gorakṣya-vāṇijyaṁ vaiśya-karma svabhāva-jam.
Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.
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
From Śrīla Prabhupāda's chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:
In this chapter we shall find descriptions of the mango distribution festival and Lord Caitanya’s discourses with Chand Kazi. Finally, the chapter shows that the same son of mother Yaśodā, Lord Kṛṣṇa, tasted four transcendental mellows of devotional service in His form of Śacīnandana, the son of mother Śacī.Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 17
Learn the words of the verse.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
How does considering the cow a mother deepen your understanding of cow protection?
Write down one reason the purport gives for protecting cows.
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 17.159? Get an answer from the verses themselves.