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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

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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 17.278Ādi 17.280

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 17.279

শ্যামসুন্দর, শিখিপিচ্ছ–গুঞ্জা–বিভূষণ ।

গোপ–বেশ, ত্রিভঙ্গিম, মুরলী–বদন ॥ ২৭৯ ॥

śyāmasundara, śikhipiccha-guñjā-vibhūṣaṇa

gopa-veśa, tri-bhaṅgima, muralī-vadana

Translation

He has a bluish complexion, a peacock feather on His head, a guñjā garland and the decorations of a cowherd boy. His body is curved in three places, and He holds a flute to His mouth.

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.

Kṛṣṇa’s beautiful cowherd form

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa has a bluish complexion and wears a peacock feather on His head.

  2. 2

    He wears a guñjā garland and the decorations of a cowherd boy.

  3. 3

    His body is curved in three places, and He holds a flute to His mouth.

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:

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. It appears contradictory that the same Kṛṣṇa accepted the ecstasy of the gopīs, and of course this is very difficult for an ordinary person to understand.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 17
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. śyāma-sundaraLord Kṛṣṇa, who has a bluish color
  2. śikhi-picchawith a peacock feather on the head
  3. guñjāa garland of guñjā (small berries or conchshells)
  4. vibhūṣaṇadecorations
  5. gopa-veśawith the dress of a cowherd boy
  6. tri-bhaṅgimacurved in three places
  7. muralīvadanaholding a flute to His mouth
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Vraja-smaraṇa · Remembrance of Vṛndāvana

    The remembered sweetness of Vraja that colors Mahāprabhu’s pilgrimage, Ratha-yātrā, and later states of separation. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “cowherd”

Concept links are an editorial study map; only the verse is the text itself.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which detail of Kṛṣṇa’s form stands out to me as I read?

Practice

Spend a quiet moment recalling the details of Kṛṣṇa’s form described here.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa’s beautiful cowherd 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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