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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 1.77Antya 1.79

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 1.78

যঃ কৌমারহরঃ স এব হি বরস্তা এব চৈত্রক্ষপা- স্তে চোন্মীলিতমালতীসুরভয়ঃ প্রৌঢ়াঃ কদম্বানিলাঃ ।

সা চৈবাস্মি তথাপি তত্র সুরতব্যাপারলীলাবিধৌ রেবারোধসি বেতসীতরুতলে চেতঃ সমুৎকণ্ঠতে ॥ ৭৮ ॥

yaḥ kaumāra-haraḥ sa eva hi varas tā eva caitra-kṣapās

te conmīlita-mālatī-surabhayaḥ prauḍhāḥ kadambānilāḥ

sā caivāsmi tathāpi tatra surata-vyāpāra-līlā-vidhau

revā-rodhasi vetasī-taru-tale cetaḥ samutkaṇṭhate

Translation

“That very personality who stole my heart during my youth is now again my master. These are the same moonlit nights of the month of Caitra. The same fragrance of mālatī flowers is there, and the same sweet breezes are blowing from the kadamba forest. In our intimate relationship, I am also the same lover, yet still my mind is not happy here. I am eager to go back to that place on the bank of the Revā under the Vetasī tree. That is my desire.”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Familiar Surroundings Do Not Satisfy the Longing

  1. 1

    The speaker meets again the same person who stole the speaker’s heart during youth.

  2. 2

    The moonlit nights, mālatī fragrance, and breezes from the kadamba forest are the same, yet the mind remains unhappy.

  3. 3

    The desire is to return to the bank of the Revā beneath the Vetasī tree. The purport identifies this as the verse recited by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Key points from the purport
  • This is the verse recited by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

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. yaḥthat same person who
  2. kaumāra-haraḥthe thief of my heart during youth
  3. saḥhe
  4. eva hicertainly
  5. varaḥlover
  6. tāḥthese
  7. evacertainly
  8. caitra-kṣapāḥmoonlit nights of the month of Caitra
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: “lover”

  • Bhāva & rasa · The language of sacred feeling

    Transcendental devotional moods and relationships, discussed explicitly in Rāmānanda’s dialogue and the teachings on prema. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “relationship”

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 contrast do I notice between the familiar surroundings and the speaker’s unfulfilled desire?

Practice

Read the verse aloud once, pausing at “yet still my mind is not happy here.”

Live this todayFamiliar Surroundings Do Not Satisfy the LongingThis 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 Antya 1.78? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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