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Study a Verse

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

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 ›

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 16.27

অহো বত শ্বপচোঽতো গরীয়ান্ যজ্জিহ্বাগ্রে বর্ততে নাম তুভ্যম্ ।

তেপুস্তপস্তে জুহুবুঃ সস্নুরার্যা ব্রহ্মানূচুর্নাম গৃণন্তি যে তে ॥ ২৭ ॥

aho bata śva-paco ’to garīyān

yaj-jihvāgre vartate nāma tubhyam

tepus tapas te juhuvuḥ sasnur āryā

brahmānūcur nāma gṛṇanti ye te

Translation

“ ‘My dear Lord, anyone who always keeps Your holy name on his tongue is greater than an initiated brāhmaṇa. Although he may be born in a family of dog-eaters and therefore, by material calculations, be the lowest of men, he is glorious nevertheless. That is the wonderful power of chanting the holy name of the Lord. One who chants the holy name is understood to have performed all kinds of austerities. He has studied all the Vedas, he has performed all the great sacrifices mentioned in the Vedas, and he has already taken his bath in all the holy places of pilgrimage. It is he who is factually the Āryan.’”

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Wonderful Power of the Holy Name

  1. 1

    Anyone who always keeps the Lord’s holy name on the tongue is greater than an initiated brāhmaṇa. Material judgments about birth cannot diminish that person’s glory.

  2. 2

    One who chants the holy name is understood to have performed all kinds of austerities, studied all the Vedas and performed the great Vedic sacrifices.

  3. 3

    Such a chanter is also understood to have bathed in all holy places of pilgrimage. The verse calls this person factually the Āryan.

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

Further reading

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 the Bengali devotees of the Lord returned to Jagannātha Purī, a gentleman named Kālidāsa, who was an uncle of Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, went with them to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu. Kālidāsa had tasted the remnants of food of all the Vaiṣṇavas in Bengal, even Jhaḍu Ṭhākura.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Antya 16
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. aho batahow wonderful it is
  2. śva-pacaḥa dog-eater
  3. ataḥthan the initiated brāhmaṇa
  4. garīyānmore glorious
  5. yatof whom
  6. jihvā-agreon the tip of the tongue
  7. vartateremains
  8. nāmathe holy name
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Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Nāma-saṅkīrtana · The holy name shared together

    Chanting the holy names as the yuga-dharma, the Lord’s public movement, and the opening prayer of Śikṣāṣṭaka. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “chanting”, “holy name”, “chants”

  • Dainya & humility · Making room for grace

    The humility expressed by the author, devotees, transformed scholars, renunciants, and the Śikṣāṣṭaka. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “lowest”

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

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does this verse deepen my appreciation for chanting the Lord’s holy name?

Practice

Set aside a few minutes today to chant the Lord’s holy name.

Live this todayThe Wonderful Power of the Holy NameThis 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 16.27? Get an answer from the verses themselves.