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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 15.19Antya 15.21

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 15.20

কৃষ্ণের বচন-মাধুরী, নানা-রস নর্মধারী, তার অন্যায় কথন না যায় ।

জগতের নারীর কাণে, মাধুরীগুণে বান্ধি’ টানে, টানাটানি কাণের প্রাণ যায় ॥ ২০ ॥

kṛṣṇera vacana-mādhurī, nānā-rasa-narma-dhārī,

tāra anyāya kathana nā yāya

jagatera nārīra kāṇe, mādhurī-guṇe bāndhi’ ṭāne,

ṭānāṭāni kāṇera prāṇa yāya

Translation

“The sweetness of Kṛṣṇa’s joking words plays indescribable havoc with the hearts of all women. His words bind a woman’s ear to the qualities of their sweetness. Thus there is a tug-of-war, and the life of the ear departs.

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.

Kṛṣṇa’s Sweet Words Captivate the Ear

  1. 1

    The sweetness of Kṛṣṇa’s joking words plays indescribable havoc with the hearts of all women.

  2. 2

    His words bind a woman’s ear to their sweetness. Hearing becomes deeply captivated by His speech.

  3. 3

    The verse describes a tug-of-war in which the life of the ear departs. This language conveys the extreme intensity of that attraction.

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:

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. On the night of the rāsa dance, the gopīs, bereaved by Kṛṣṇa’s absence, searched for Kṛṣṇa from one forest to another.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Antya 15
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. kṛṣṇeraof Lord Kṛṣṇa
  2. vacana-mādhurīthe sweetness of speaking
  3. nānāvarious
  4. rasa-narma-dhārīfull of joking words
  5. tāraof that
  6. anyāyaatrocities
  7. kathanadescription
  8. nā yāyacannot be made
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does the image of the ear being bound express the attraction of Kṛṣṇa’s words?

Practice

Read the translation aloud once, noticing its descriptions of sweetness, binding and tug-of-war.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa’s Sweet Words Captivate the EarThis 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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