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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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Antya-līlā · 20 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 ›
Antya-līlā · Chapter 1: Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Second Meeting with the Lord
Antya 1.147Antya 1.149

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 1.148

পীড়াভির্নবকালকূটকটুতা-গর্বস্য নির্বাসনো নিঃস্যন্দেন মুদাং সুধা-মধুরিমাহঙ্কর-সঙ্কোচনঃ ।

প্রেমা সুন্দরি নন্দনন্দনপরো জাগর্তি যস্যান্তরে জ্ঞায়ন্তে স্ফুটমস্য বক্রমধুরাস্তেনৈব বিক্রান্তয়ঃ ॥ ১৪৮ ॥

pīḍābhir nava-kālakūṭa-kaṭutā-garvasya nirvāsano

nisyandena mudāṁ sudhā-madhurimāhaṅkāra-saṅkocanaḥ

premā sundari nanda-nandana-paro jāgarti yasyāntare

jñāyante sphuṭam asya vakra-madhurās tenaiva vikrāntayaḥ

Translation

“ ‘My dear beautiful friend, if one develops love of Godhead, love of Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, all the bitter and sweet influences of this love will manifest in one’s heart. Such love of Godhead acts in two ways. The poisonous effects of love of Godhead defeat the severe and fresh poison of the serpent. Yet there is simultaneously transcendental bliss, which pours down and defeats the poisonous effects of a snake, as well as the happiness derived from pouring nectar on one’s head. It is perceived as doubly effective, simultaneously poisonous and nectarean.’”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Love for Kṛṣṇa Is Bitter and Sweet

  1. 1

    When love for Kṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja, develops, both its bitter and sweet influences manifest in the heart.

  2. 2

    Its poisonous effects surpass the severe, fresh poison of a serpent. Yet transcendental bliss simultaneously pours down, overcoming those effects and surpassing the happiness of nectar.

  3. 3

    Paurṇamāsī speaks this verse in the Vidagdha-mādhava. She describes love of Godhead as simultaneously poisonous and nectarean.

Key points from the purport
  • It also appears in the Madhya-līlā (chapter two, verse 52).

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

Recognition and encouragement. Rūpa’s devotional insight receives the Lord’s approval; even a dog receives mercy.

The mood of Antya 1 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Antya 1: Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s Second Meeting with the Lord

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

After this incident, the dog was liberated and went back home, back to Godhead. Meanwhile, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī reached Bengal, after returning from Vṛndāvana.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Antya 1
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. pīḍābhiḥby the sufferings
  2. navafresh
  3. kāla-kūṭaof poison
  4. kaṭutāof the severity
  5. garvasyaof pride
  6. nirvāsanaḥbanishment
  7. nisyandenaby pouring down
  8. mudāmhappiness
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 of godhead”, “love of krsna”, “love for krsna”

  • 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: “nanda”

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 does this description deepen your understanding beyond the idea that love brings only sweetness?

Practice

Read the verse slowly and note one phrase describing bitterness and one describing bliss.

Live this todayLove for Kṛṣṇa Is Bitter and SweetThis 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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