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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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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 3: The External Reasons for the Appearance of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
Ādi 3.57Ādi 3.59

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 3.58

কলৌ যং বিদ্বাংসঃ স্ফুটমভিযজন্তে দ্যুতিভরা–

দকৃষ্ণাঙ্গং কৃষ্ণং মখবিধিভিরুৎকীর্তনময়ৈঃ ।

উপাস্যঞ্চ প্রাহুর্যমখিলচতুর্থাশ্রমজুষাং ।

স দেবশ্চৈতন্যাকৃতিরতিতরাং নঃ কৃপয়তু ॥ ৫৮ ॥

kalau yaṁ vidvāṁsaḥ sphuṭam abhiyajante dyuti-bharād

akṛṣṇāṅgaṁ kṛṣṇaṁ makha-vidhibhir utkīrtana-mayaiḥ

upāsyaṁ ca prāhur yam akhila-caturthāśrama-juṣāṁ

sa devaś caitanyākṛtir atitarāṁ naḥ kṛpayatu

Translation

“By performing the sacrifice of congregational chanting of the holy name, learned scholars in the Age of Kali worship Lord Kṛṣṇa, who is now nonblackish because of the great upsurge of the feelings of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. He is the only worshipable Deity for the paramahaṁsas, who have attained the highest stage of the fourth order [sannyāsa]. May that Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Caitanya, show us His great causeless mercy.”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Worship Lord Caitanya Through Congregational Chanting

  1. 1

    Learned scholars in the Age of Kali worship Lord Kṛṣṇa through the sacrifice of congregational chanting of the holy name.

  2. 2

    Lord Kṛṣṇa is now nonblackish because of the great upsurge of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s feelings. Lord Caitanya is that Supreme Personality of Godhead, the only worshipable Deity for the paramahaṁsas.

  3. 3

    The verse prays for His great causeless mercy. The purport identifies it as a verse from the Stava-mālā of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.

Key points from the purport
  • This verse is Dvitīya Śrī Caitanyāṣṭaka 1, from the Stava-mālā of Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.

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

Compassion and urgency. The holy name is offered for the age; divine love moves outward toward others.

The mood of Ādi 3 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 3: The External Reasons for the Appearance of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

From Śrīla Prabhupāda's chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

According to the Vedic literature, the foremost occupational duty for humanity in this Age of Kali is nāma-saṅkīrtana, or congregational chanting of the holy name of the Lord. The incarnation for this age especially preaches this process, but only Kṛṣṇa Himself can explain the confidential loving service performed in the four principal varieties of loving affairs between the Supreme Lord and His devotees.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 3
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. kalauin the Age of Kali
  2. yamHim whom
  3. vidvāṁsaḥthe learned men
  4. sphuṭamclearly manifested
  5. abhiyajanteworship
  6. dyuti-bharātdue to an abundance of bodily luster
  7. akṛṣṇa-aṅgamwhose body is not blackish
  8. kṛṣṇamLord Kṛṣṇa
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Nāma-saṅkīrtana · The holy name shared together

    Chanting the holy names as the yuga-dharma, the Lord’s public movement, and the opening prayer of Śikṣāṣṭaka. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “chanting”, “holy name”, “congregational”

  • Rādhā-bhāva · The confidential inner purpose

    The Lord’s desire to taste the love and perspective of Śrī Rādhā, illuminated by later ecstatic pastimes. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “rādhārāṇī”, “rādhārāṇī’s”

  • 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: “mercy”

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

How can I approach congregational chanting as worship and a prayer for mercy?

Practice

Chant the holy name with another person today, praying for Lord Caitanya’s causeless mercy.

Live this todayWorship Lord Caitanya Through Congregational ChantingThis 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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