1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by līlā and chapter

Antya-līlā · 20 chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20

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 16.128 Antya 16.130

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 16.129

শুষ্ক বাঁশের লাঠিখান, এত করে অপমান, এই দশা করিল, গোসাঞি ।

না সহি’ কি করিতে পারি, তাহে রহি মৌন ধরি’, চোরার মাকে ডাকি’ কান্দিতে নাই ॥ ১২৯ ॥

śuṣka bāṅśera lāṭhikhāna, eta kare apamāna,

ei daśā karila, gosāñi

nā sahi’ ki karite pāri, tāhe rahi mauna dhari’,

corāra māke ḍāki’ kāndite nāi

Translation

“This flute is nothing but a dry stick of bamboo, but it becomes our master and insults us in so many ways that it forces us into a predicament. What can we do but tolerate it? The mother of a thief cannot cry loudly for justice when the thief is punished. Therefore we simply remain silent.

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 Gopīs Silently Tolerate the Flute

1
Although the flute is merely a dry bamboo stick, the gopīs describe it as their master.
2
Its many insults place them in a predicament, and they ask what they can do except tolerate it.
3
They compare themselves to a thief’s mother, who cannot loudly demand justice when her child is punished. Thus they remain silent.

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.

śuṣkadry
bāṅśeraof bamboo
lāṭhi-khānaa stick
etathis
kare apamānainsults
eithis
daśācondition
karilamade

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

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

How does the comparison with a thief’s mother explain the gopīs’ silence?

Practice

Summarize in one sentence the contrast between the flute’s simple material and its power over the gopīs.

Live this todayThe Gopīs Silently Tolerate the FluteThis 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 16.129? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

Next in Learn · 5 of 9 · 2 minAsk Caitanya CaritamrtaBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the book's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnLīlās & chapters