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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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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 4: The Confidential Reasons for the Appearance of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
Ādi 4.152Ādi 4.154

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 4.153

গোপ্যশ্চ কৃষ্ণমুপলভ্য চিরাদভীষ্টং

যৎপ্রেক্ষণে দৃশিষু পক্ষ্মকৃতং শপন্তি ।

দৃগ্‌ভির্হৃদীকৃতমলং পরিরভ্য সর্বা–

স্তদ্ভাবমাপুরপি নিত্যযুজাং দুরাপম্‌ ॥ ১৫৩ ॥

gopyaś ca kṛṣṇam upalabhya cirād abhīṣṭaṁ

yat-prekṣaṇe dṛśiṣu pakṣma-kṛtaṁ śapanti

dṛgbhir hṛdī-kṛtam alaṁ parirabhya sarvās

tad-bhāvam āpur api nitya-yujāṁ durāpam

Translation

“The gopīs saw their beloved Kṛṣṇa at Kurukṣetra after a long separation. They secured and embraced Him in their hearts through their eyes, and they attained a joy so intense that not even perfect yogīs can attain it. The gopīs cursed the creator for creating eyelids that interfered with their vision.”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Seeing Kṛṣṇa Brings Incomparable Joy

  1. 1

    After a long separation, the gopīs saw their beloved Kṛṣṇa at Kurukṣetra and embraced Him in their hearts through their eyes.

  2. 2

    Their joy was so intense that even perfect yogīs cannot attain it.

  3. 3

    The gopīs cursed the creator for making eyelids, which interrupted their vision of Kṛṣṇa.

How it feels

Profound longing. Kṛṣṇa desires to taste Rādhā’s love, His own sweetness as She sees it, and Her joy.

The mood of Ādi 4 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 4: The Confidential Reasons for the Appearance of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

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

Kṛṣṇa is the transcendental male, and Rādhārāṇī is the transcendental female. Therefore, to know the transcendental pleasure of loving Kṛṣṇa, Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself appeared as Lord Caitanya, accepting the emotions and bodily luster of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 4
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. gopyaḥthe gopīs
  2. caand
  3. kṛṣṇamLord Kṛṣṇa
  4. upalabhyaseeing
  5. cirātafter a long time
  6. abhīṣṭamdesired object
  7. yat-prekṣaṇein the seeing of whom
  8. dṛśiṣuin the eyes
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Vipralambha · Love in separation

    Separation that intensifies remembrance and longing; especially central to the confidential pastimes at Purī. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “separation”

  • 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: “gopīs”

  • 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: “embraced”

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

What does the gopīs’ response reveal about how precious seeing Kṛṣṇa was to them?

Practice

Read the translation slowly once, pausing to reflect on the gopīs embracing Kṛṣṇa in their hearts.

Live this todaySeeing Kṛṣṇa Brings Incomparable JoyThis 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 4.153? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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