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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 · Texts Ādi 17.55-56

সন্ন্যাস করিয়া যবে প্রভু নীলাচলে গেলা ।

তথা হৈতে যবে কুলিয়া গ্রামে আইলা ॥ ৫৫ ॥

তবে সেই পাপী প্রভুর লইল শরণ ।

হিত উপদেশ কৈল হইয়া করুণ ॥ ৫৬ ॥

sannyāsa kariyā yabe prabhu nīlācale gelā

tathā haite yabe kuliyā grāme āilā

Translation

When Śrī Caitanya, after accepting the renounced order of life, went to Jagannātha Purī and then came back to the village of Kuliyā, upon His return that sinful man took shelter at the Lord’s lotus feet. The Lord, being merciful to him, gave him instructions for his benefit.

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Taking Shelter Opens the Way to Mercy

  1. 1

    After accepting the renounced order of life, Śrī Caitanya went to Jagannātha Purī and later returned to Kuliyā. There, the sinful man took shelter at His lotus feet and received merciful instructions for his benefit.

  2. 2

    Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura identifies this Kuliyā as being on the western side of the Ganges. The village developed into the present city of Navadvīpa.

  3. 3

    The purport distinguishes this place, where the offense was excused, from another Kuliyā near Kāṅcaḍāpāḍā. It warns that unauthorized places are sometimes advertised as authorized for business reasons.

Key points from the purport
  • The village originally known as Kuliyā has developed into what is now the city of Navadvīpa.
  • In the time of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the two villages on the western side of the Ganges named Kuliyā and Pāhāḍapura both belonged to the jurisdiction of Bāhiradvīpa.
  • At that time the place on the eastern side of the Ganges now known as Antardvīpa was known as Navadvīpa.

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:

The seventeenth chapter, as summarized by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya, describes Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pastimes from His sixteenth year until the time He accepted the renounced order of life. Śrīla Vṛndāvana dāsa Ṭhākura has already vividly described these pastimes in the Caitanya-bhāgavata; therefore Kṛṣṇa dāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī describes them only briefly.
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. sannyāsa kariyāafter accepting the renounced order of life
  2. yabewhen
  3. prabhuLord Caitanya Mahāprabhu
  4. nīlācaleto Jagannātha Purī
  5. gelāwent
  6. tathā haitefrom there
  7. yabewhen
  8. kuliyāof the name Kuliyā
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Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Śaraṇāgati · Taking shelter

    Turning toward Kṛṣṇa through shelter, surrender, dependence on guru, and unconditional devotional fidelity. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “shelter”, “lotus feet”

  • Kṛpā & transformation · Mercy changes a life

    Transformative encounters with grace, from scholars and travelers to renunciants and householders. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “merciful”

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

Am I ready to receive beneficial instruction when I seek the Lord’s mercy?

Practice

Reread the Lord’s merciful response and offer a brief prayer for willingness to accept His instructions.

Live this todayTaking Shelter Opens the Way to MercyThis 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 17.55-56? Get an answer from the verses themselves.