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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 17: The Bodily Transformations of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
Antya 17.17Antya 17.19

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 17.18

গাভী সব চৌদিকে শুঁকে প্রভুর শ্রীঅঙ্গ ।

দূর কৈলে নাহি ছাড়ে প্রভুর শ্রীঅঙ্গ-সঙ্গ ॥ ১৮ ॥

gābhī saba caudike śuṅke prabhura śrī-aṅga

dūra kaile nāhi chāḍe prabhura śrī-aṅga-saṅga

Translation

All the cows around the Lord were sniffing His transcendental body. When the devotees tried to check them, they refused to give up their association with the transcendental body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

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.

The Cows Would Not Leave the Lord

  1. 1

    The cows gathered around the Lord and sniffed His transcendental body.

  2. 2

    The devotees tried to check the cows, but the cows would not withdraw.

  3. 3

    They refused to give up their association with the transcendental body of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

How it feels

Inconceivable ecstatic absorption. The Lord’s overwhelming love manifests extraordinary bodily changes.

The mood of Antya 17 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Antya 17: The Bodily Transformations of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

Śrīla Prabhupāda's summary of this chapter:

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura gives the following summary of the seventeenth chapter in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya. Absorbed in transcendental ecstasy, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu went out one night without opening the doors to His room. After crossing over three walls, He fell down among some cows belonging to the district of Tailaṅga. There He remained unconscious, assuming the aspect of a tortoise.
Back to this verse in Antya 17
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. gābhīcows
  2. sabaall
  3. cau-dikearound
  4. śuṅkesniff
  5. prabhuraof Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
  6. śrī-aṅgathe transcendental body
  7. dūra kaileif they are taken away
  8. nāhi chāḍethey do not give up
  9. prabhuraof Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
  10. śrī-aṅga-saṅgaassociation with the transcendental body
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Sādhu-saṅga · Love grows through association

    Spiritual association shapes the movement, empowers disciples, and reveals truths through loving conversations. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “association”

  • 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: “gathered”

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

What strikes you about the cows’ unwillingness to leave Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu?

Practice

Spend a quiet minute rereading the cows’ response and reflecting on their attachment to the Lord’s association.

Live this todayThe Cows Would Not Leave the LordThis 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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