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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

1Say the verse. Read the transliteration aloud, slowly.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each word and its meaning.
3Read the translation. Ask: what is happening here, and who is it about?
4Read the purport slowly. Read it twice. Don't rush.
5See Lord Caitanya as Kṛṣṇa. Remember who is acting in the pastime.
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 4.50 Ādi 4.52

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 4.51

সুরেশানাং দুর্গং গতিরতিশয়েনোপনিষদাং

মুনীনাং সর্বস্বং প্রণতপটলীনাং মধুরিমা ।

বিনির্যাসঃ প্রেম্‌নো নিখিলপশুপালাম্বুজদৃশাং

স চৈতন্যঃ কিং মে পুনরপি দৃশোর্যাস্যতি পদম্‌ ॥ ৫১ ॥

sureśānāṁ durgaṁ gatir atiśayenopaniṣadāṁ

munīnāṁ sarva-svaṁ praṇata-paṭalīnāṁ madhurimā

viniryāsaḥ premṇo nikhila-paśu-pālāmbuja-dṛśāṁ

sa caitanyaḥ kiṁ me punar api dṛśor yāsyati padam

Translation

“Lord Caitanya is the shelter of the demigods, the goal of the Upaniṣads, the be-all and end-all of the great sages, the beautiful shelter of His devotees, and the essence of the love of the lotus-eyed gopīs. Will He again be the object of my vision?”

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Lord Caitanya Is Shelter and Goal

1
Lord Caitanya is the shelter of the demigods and the goal of the Upaniṣads.
2
He is the be-all and end-all of the great sages and the beautiful shelter of His devotees.
3
He is the essence of the love of the lotus-eyed gopīs. The prayer expresses longing to see Him again.

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

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

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

The subject of those loving transactions is the Lord Himself, and Rādhārāṇī is the object. Thus the subject, the Lord, wanted to relish the loving mellow in the position of the object, Rādhārāṇī.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in Ādi 4

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

sura-īśānāmof the kings of the demigods
durgamfortress
gatiḥthe goal
atiśayenaeminently
upaniṣadāmof the Upaniṣads
munīnāmof the sages
sarva-svamthe be-all and end-all
praṇata-paṭalīnāmof the groups of the devotees

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”
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”
Śaraṇāgati · Taking shelter
Turning toward Kṛṣṇa through shelter, surrender, dependence on guru, and unconditional devotional fidelity. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “shelter”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which description of Lord Caitanya most helps me turn toward Him as my shelter?

Practice

Choose one description of Lord Caitanya from this verse and reflect on it quietly today.

Live this todayLord Caitanya Is Shelter and GoalThis 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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