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

1234567891011121314151617181920
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 17.22Antya 17.24

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 17.23

বেণু-শব্দ শুনি’ আমি গেলাঙ বৃন্দাবন ।

দেখি, — গোষ্ঠে বেণু বাজায় ব্রজেন্দ্রনন্দন ॥ ২৩ ॥

veṇu-śabda śuni’ āmi gelāṅa vṛndāvana

dekhi, — goṣṭhe veṇu bājāya vrajendra-nandana

Translation

“After hearing the vibration of a flute, I went to Vṛndāvana, and there I saw that Kṛṣṇa, the son of Mahārāja Nanda, was playing on His flute in the pasturing grounds.

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 Flute Leads the Lord to Vṛndāvana

  1. 1

    Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that He heard the vibration of a flute and went to Vṛndāvana.

  2. 2

    There He saw Kṛṣṇa, the son of Mahārāja Nanda.

  3. 3

    Kṛṣṇa was playing His flute in the pasturing grounds. The Lord described this as what He had seen.

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. veṇu-śabdathe vibration of the flute
  2. śuni’after hearing
  3. āmiI
  4. gelāṅawent
  5. vṛndāvanato Vṛndāvana
  6. dekhiI saw
  7. goṣṭhein the pasturing field
  8. veṇuthe flute
  9. bājāyaplayed
  10. vrajendra-nandanaKṛṣṇa, the son of Nanda Mahārāja
3

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: “vṛndāvana”, “nanda”

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

Which detail of the Lord’s description helps you attend more closely to Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Read the verse slowly, then recall its simple description of Kṛṣṇa playing His flute in the pasturing grounds.

Live this todayThe Flute Leads the Lord to VṛndāvanaThis 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 17.23? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
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