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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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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 15: The Transcendental Madness of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
Antya 15.16Antya 15.18

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 15.17

এক অশ্ব একক্ষণে, পাঁচ পাঁচ দিকে টানে, এক মন কোন্ দিকে ধায় ? এককালে সবে টানে, গেল ঘোড়ার পরাণে, এই দুঃখ সহন না যায় ॥ ১৭ ॥

eka aśva eka-kṣaṇe, pāṅca pāṅca dike ṭāne,

eka mana kon dike yāya?

eka-kāle sabe ṭāne, gela ghoḍāra parāṇe,

ei duḥkha sahana nā yāya

Translation

“My mind is just like a single horse being ridden by the five senses of perception, headed by sight. Each of My senses wants to ride that horse, and thus they pull My mind in five directions simultaneously. In what direction will it go? If they all pull at one time, certainly the horse will lose its life. How can I tolerate this atrocity?

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

One Mind Pulled in Five Directions

  1. 1

    The mind is compared to a single horse, ridden by the five senses of perception, headed by sight.

  2. 2

    Each sense pulls the mind in a different direction at the same time. In this context, each is drawn toward Kṛṣṇa.

  3. 3

    The competing pulls threaten the horse’s life. This image expresses the unbearable intensity of the Lord’s experience.

How it feels

Absorbed searching. The Lord lives the gopīs’ search for Kṛṣṇa with ecstatic transformations.

The mood of Antya 15 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Antya 15: The Transcendental Madness of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

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

After seeing the upala-bhoga ceremony of Lord Jagannātha, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu once more began to feel ecstatic emotions. When He saw the garden on the beach by the sea, He again thought that He was in Vṛndāvana, and when He began to think of Kṛṣṇa engaging in His different pastimes, transcendental emotions excited Him again.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Antya 15
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. ekaone
  2. aśvahorse
  3. eka-kṣaṇeat one time
  4. pāṅcafive men
  5. pāṅca dikein five directions
  6. ṭānepull
  7. ekaone
  8. manamind
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does the image of one horse pulled in five directions help you understand about the Lord’s distress?

Practice

Read the verse slowly once, pausing to picture the single horse and its five riders.

Live this todayOne Mind Pulled in Five DirectionsThis 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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