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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 1.166Antya 1.168

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 1.167

কুলবরতনুধর্মগ্রাববৃন্দানি ভিন্দন্ সুমুখি নিশিতদীর্ঘাপাঙ্গটঙ্কচ্ছটাভিঃ ।

যুগপদয়মপূর্বঃ কঃ পুরো বিশ্বকর্মা মরকতমণিলক্ষৈর্গোষ্ঠকক্ষাং চিনোতি ॥ ১৬৭ ॥

kula-vara-tanu-dharma-grāva-vṛndāni bhindan

su-mukhi niśita-dīrghāpāṅga-ṭaṅka-cchaṭābhiḥ

yugapad ayam apūrvaḥ kaḥ puro viśvakarmā

marakata-maṇi-lakṣair goṣṭha-kakṣāṁ cinoti

Translation

“ ‘O beautiful-faced one, who is this creative person standing before us? With the sharp chisels of His loving glances, He is splitting the hard stones of many women’s devotion to their husbands. And with the luster of His body, surpassing the brilliance of countless emeralds, He is simultaneously constructing private meeting places for His pastimes.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Creative Power of Loving Glances

  1. 1

    Rādhārāṇī asks Lalitādevī who this creative person standing before them is.

  2. 2

    His loving glances are compared to sharp chisels, splitting the hard stones of many women’s devotion to their husbands.

  3. 3

    His bodily luster surpasses countless emeralds. The verse portrays that luster as constructing private meeting places for His pastimes.

Key points from the purport
  • This verse (Lalita-mādhava 1.52) is spoken by Rādhārāṇī to Lalitādevī.

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:

One day Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Rāmānanda Rāya, Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya and others went to the place of Haridāsa Ṭhākura and heard some of the verses Rūpa Gosvāmī had composed for his books Lalita-mādhava and Vidagdha-mādhava. After examining the manuscripts of these two books, Rāmānanda Rāya approved and appreciated them very much.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Antya 1
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. kula-vara-tanuof the family women
  2. dharmain the form of dedication to the husband, etc.
  3. grāva-vṛndānithe stones
  4. bhindansplitting
  5. su-mukhiO beautiful-faced one
  6. niśitasharp
  7. dīrgha-apāṅgain the form of long outer corners of the eyes
  8. ṭaṅka-chaṭābhiḥby chisels
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • 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”

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 do the images of chisels and construction convey about the power of His beauty?

Practice

Identify the two things His glances and bodily luster are poetically described as doing.

Live this todayThe Creative Power of Loving GlancesThis 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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