1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by līlā and chapter

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 17.164

অশ্বমেধং গবালম্ভং সন্ন্যাসং পলপৈতৃকম্ ।

দেবরেণ সুতোৎপত্তিং কলৌ পঞ্চ বিবর্জয়েৎ ॥ ১৬৪ ॥

aśvamedhaṁ gavālambhaṁ

sannyāsaṁ pala-paitṛkam

devareṇa sutotpattiṁ

kalau pañca vivarjayet

Translation

“ ‘In this Age of Kali, five acts are forbidden: the offering of a horse in sacrifice, the offering of a cow in sacrifice, the acceptance of the order of sannyāsa, the offering of oblations of flesh to the forefathers, and a man’s begetting children in his brother’s wife.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Five Acts Forbidden in Kali

  1. 1

    The translation lists five acts forbidden in the Age of Kali, including offering a horse or a cow in sacrifice.

  2. 2

    The list also includes accepting the order of sannyāsa and offering oblations of flesh to the forefathers.

  3. 3

    The fifth act is a man’s begetting children in his brother’s wife. The purport identifies this passage as a quotation from the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa.

Key points from the purport
  • This is a quotation from the Brahma-vaivarta Purāṇa (Kṛṣṇa-janma-khaṇḍa 185.180).

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

Quoted in the purport ofSB 5.7.5

“In this Age of Kali, five acts are forbidden: the offering of a horse in sacrifice, the offering of a cow in sacrifice, the acceptance of the order of sannyāsa, the offering of oblations of flesh to the forefathers, and a man’s begetting children in his brother’s wife.”

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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:

Among all the gopīs, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī has the highest ecstatic love. When Kṛṣṇa in His form of Nārāyaṇa saw Rādhārāṇī, He could not keep His position as Nārāyaṇa and again assumed the form of Kṛṣṇa.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 17
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. aśva-medhama sacrifice offering a horse
  2. gava-ālambhama sacrifice of cows
  3. sannyāsamthe renounced order of life
  4. pala-paitṛkaman offering of oblations of flesh to the forefathers
  5. devareṇaby a husband’s brother
  6. suta-utpattimbegetting children
  7. kalauin the Age of Kali
  8. pañcafive
  9. vivarjayetone must give up
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does this list teach me about considering which religious acts are permitted in the Age of Kali?

Practice

Write down the five forbidden acts and note that this instruction concerns the Age of Kali.

4

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

Quoted in 2 lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 2 lectures

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayFive Acts Forbidden in KaliThis 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 17.164? Get an answer from the verses themselves.