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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 17.74Ādi 17.76

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 17.75

জ্ঞান–কর্ম–যোগ–ধর্মে নহে কৃষ্ণ বশ ।

কৃষ্ণবশ–হেতু এক—প্রেমভক্তি–রস ॥ ৭৫ ॥

jñāna-karma-yoga-dharme nahe kṛṣṇa vaśa

kṛṣṇa-vaśa-hetu eka — prema-bhakti-rasa

Translation

“By following the paths of speculative philosophical knowledge, fruitive activity or mystic yoga to control the senses, one cannot satisfy Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord. Unalloyed devotional love for Kṛṣṇa is the only cause for the Lord’s satisfaction.

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.

Pure Devotional Love Alone Satisfies Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    Speculative philosophical knowledge cannot satisfy Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord.

  2. 2

    Neither fruitive activity nor mystic yoga for controlling the senses can satisfy Him.

  3. 3

    Unalloyed devotional love for Kṛṣṇa is the only cause of the Lord’s satisfaction.

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:

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. To understand Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s ecstatic love for Him, Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa assumed the form of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 17
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. jñānathe path of speculative knowledge
  2. karmafruitive activities
  3. yogathe process of controlling the senses
  4. dharmein the activities, in such an occupation
  5. naheis not
  6. kṛṣṇaLord Kṛṣṇa
  7. vaśapleased
  8. kṛṣṇaof Lord Kṛṣṇa
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Prema · Love of Godhead

    The culminating devotional purpose that unites the narration: bestowed, cultivated, taught, celebrated, and tasted. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “love for krsna”

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

Is my aim to satisfy Kṛṣṇa through love, or to gain something for myself?

Practice

Do one small act of devotional service today with the intention of satisfying Kṛṣṇa, without seeking a personal reward.

Live this todayPure Devotional Love Alone Satisfies KṛṣṇaThis 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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