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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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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 16.143 Antya 16.145

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 16.144

হেন কৃষ্ণাধর-সুধা, যে কৈল অমৃত মুধা, যার আশায় গোপী ধরে প্রাণ ।

এই বেণু অযোগ্য অতি, স্থাবর ‘পুরুষজাতি’, সেই সুধা সদা করে পান ॥ ১৪৪ ॥

hena kṛṣṇādhara-sudhā, ye kaila amṛta mudhā,

yāra āśāya gopī dhare prāṇa

ei veṇu ayogya ati, sthāvara ‘puruṣa-jāti’,

sei sudhā sadā kare pāna

Translation

“ ‘This flute is utterly unfit because it is merely a dead bamboo stick. Moreover, it belongs to the male sex. Yet this flute is always drinking the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lips, which surpasses nectarean sweetness of every description. Only by hoping for that nectar do the gopīs continue to live.

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.

Hope for Kṛṣṇa’s Nectar Sustains the Gopīs

1
The gopīs described the flute as utterly unfit: merely a dead bamboo stick and belonging to the male sex.
2
Yet the flute was always drinking the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s lips, which surpasses nectarean sweetness of every description.
3
The gopīs said that only the hope of tasting that nectar kept them alive.

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.

henasuch
kṛṣṇa-adharaof Kṛṣṇa’s lips
sudhānectar
yewhich
kailamade
amṛtanectar
mudhāsurpassed
yāra āśāyaby hoping for which

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

What contrast do you notice between the gopīs’ description of the flute and their description of what he receives?

Practice

Read the verse slowly and underline the words that express how precious Kṛṣṇa’s nectar is to the gopīs.

Live this todayHope for Kṛṣṇa’s Nectar Sustains the GopīsThis 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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