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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 17.269

প্রভু তাঁরে নমস্করি’ কৈল নিমন্ত্রণ ।

ভিক্ষা করাইয়া তাঁরে কৈল নিবেদন ॥ ২৬৯ ॥

prabhu tāṅre namaskari’ kaila nimantraṇa

bhikṣā karāiyā tāṅre kaila nivedana

Translation

The Lord offered him respectful obeisances and invited him to His house. After feeding him sumptuously, He submitted to him His petition.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Respectful Hospitality Before Presenting a Request

  1. 1

    The Lord offers Keśava Bhāratī respectful obeisances, invites him home and feeds him sumptuously before presenting His petition.

  2. 2

    In Vedic society, someone should invite a visiting sannyāsī to take prasādam at home. Sannyāsīs generally accept prasādam in a brāhmaṇa’s home, where the Lord is worshiped as Nārāyaṇa śilā, or śālagrāma-śilā.

  3. 3

    Keśava Bhāratī accepts Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s invitation. This gives the Lord an opportunity to explain His desire to take sannyāsa from him.

Key points from the purport
  • According to the system of Vedic society, whenever an unknown sannyāsī comes to a village or town, someone must invite him to take prasādam in his home.
  • Sannyāsīs generally take prasādam in the house of a brāhmaṇa because the brāhmaṇa worships the Lord Nārāyaṇa śilā, or śālagrāma-śilā, and therefore there is prasādam that the sannyāsī may take.
  • Thus the Lord had a good opportunity to explain His desire to take sannyāsa from him.

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:

All the Lord’s other associates, situated in their original love, engage in the service of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The same Absolute Truth who enjoys as Kṛṣṇa, Śyāmasundara, who plays His flute and dances with the gopīs, sometimes takes birth in a brāhmaṇa family and plays the part of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, accepting the renounced order of life.
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. tāṅreto him
  3. namaskari’offering obeisances
  4. kailadid
  5. nimantraṇainvitation
  6. bhikṣāalms
  7. karāiyāgiving
  8. tāṅreto him
  9. kailasubmitted
  10. nivedanaHis prayer
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Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Sevā · Love translated into service

    Devotional service expressed through cleansing, caring, teaching, honoring others, and living as Kṛṣṇa’s servant. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “offered”

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 give sincere respect and care before presenting my own requests?

Practice

Offer someone a simple act of hospitality today before asking anything of them.

Live this todayRespectful Hospitality Before Presenting a RequestThis 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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