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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

1Say the verse. Read the transliteration aloud, slowly.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each word and its meaning.
3Read the translation. Ask: what is happening here, and who is it about?
4Read the purport slowly. Read it twice. Don't rush.
5See Lord Caitanya as Kṛṣṇa. Remember who is acting in the pastime.
6Take one thing into your day. Note one point and one practice.

Read the full guide: how to read Caitanya Caritamrta ›

Antya-līlā · Chapter 16: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Tastes Nectar from the Lips of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa

Antya 16.127 Antya 16.129

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 16.128

নীবি খসায় গুরু-আগে, লজ্জা-ধর্ম করায় ত্যাগে, কেশে ধরি’ যেন লঞা যায় ।

আনি’ করায় তোমার দাসী, শুনি’ লোক করে হাসি, এইমত নারীরে নাচায় ॥ ১২৮ ॥

nīvi khasāya guru-āge, lajjā-dharma karāya tyāge,

keśe dhari’ yena lañā yāya

āni’ karāya tomāra dāsī, śuni’ loka kare hāsi’,

ei-mata nārīre nācāya

Translation

“The nectar of Your lips and the vibration of Your flute join together to loosen our belts and induce us to give up shame and religion, even before our superiors. As if catching us by our hair, they forcibly take us away and deliver us unto You to become Your maidservants. Hearing of these incidents, people laugh at us. We have thus become completely subordinate to the flute.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Flute Draws the Gopīs into Service

1
The nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lips and His flute’s vibration loosen the gopīs’ belts and lead them to give up shame and religion, even before their superiors.
2
The gopīs describe being forcibly drawn away, as if caught by their hair, and delivered to Kṛṣṇa to become His maidservants.
3
People laugh when they hear of these incidents, and the gopīs say they have become completely subordinate to the flute.

How it feels

Sweetness amidst longing. Jagannātha’s prasādam awakens intense awareness of Kṛṣṇa’s sweetness.

The mood of Antya 16 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Antya 16: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Tastes Nectar from the Lips of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa

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

When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu ate the remnants of food known as vallabha-bhoga, He described the glories of such remnants of the Lord’s food and then fed all the devotees the prasādam. Thus they all tasted adharāmṛta, the nectar from the lips of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in Antya 16

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

nīvithe belts
khasāyacause to loosen
guru-āgebefore superiors
lajjā-dharmashame and religion
karāyainduce
tyāgeto give up
keśe dhari’catching by the hair
yenaas if

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

Kṛpā & transformation · Mercy changes a life
Transformative encounters with grace, from scholars and travelers to renunciants and householders. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “deliver”, “delivered”
Kīrtana community · A movement of shared hearts
Devotional community as a living network of branches, service, festivals, care, and collective chanting. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “together”
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: “gopīs’”

Concept links are an editorial study map; only the verse is the text itself.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does becoming Kṛṣṇa’s maidservants reveal about where the flute’s attraction leads?

Practice

Pause over the phrase “to become Your maidservants” and write one sentence about its place in the verse.

Live this todayThe Flute Draws the Gopīs into ServiceThis 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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