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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
  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 17.34Antya 17.36

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 17.35

কৈলা জগতে বেণুধ্বনি, সিদ্ধমন্ত্রা যোগিনী, দূতী হঞা মোহে নারী-মন ।

মহোৎকণ্ঠা বাড়াঞা, আর্যপথ ছাড়াঞা, আনি’ তোমায় করে সমর্পণ ॥ ৩৫ ॥

kailā jagate veṇu-dhvani, siddha-mantrā yoginī

dūtī hañā mohe nārī-mana

mahotkaṇṭhā bāḍāñā, ārya-patha chāḍāñā,

āni’ tomāya kare samarpaṇa

Translation

“ ‘When You play Your flute, the vibration acts like a messenger in the form of a yoginī perfect in the art of chanting mantras. This messenger enchants all the women in the universe and attracts them to You. Then she increases their great anxiety and induces them to give up the regulative principle of obeying superiors. Finally, she forcibly brings them to You to surrender in amorous love.

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 Acts as a Messenger

  1. 1

    The gopīs compared Kṛṣṇa’s flute vibration to a messenger in the form of a yoginī perfect in chanting mantras.

  2. 2

    This messenger enchants all women in the universe, attracts them to Kṛṣṇa, and increases their great anxiety.

  3. 3

    They described the flute as inducing them to give up obedience to superiors and forcibly bringing them to Kṛṣṇa in amorous surrender.

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. kailāYou have made
  2. jagatein the world
  3. veṇu-dhvanithe vibration of the flute
  4. siddha-mantrāperfected in chanting mantras
  5. yoginīa female mystic
  6. dūtīa messenger
  7. hañābeing
  8. moheenchants
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Prema · Love of Godhead

    The culminating devotional purpose that unites the narration: bestowed, cultivated, taught, celebrated, and tasted. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “love”

  • 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”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Taking shelter

    Turning toward Kṛṣṇa through shelter, surrender, dependence on guru, and unconditional devotional fidelity. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “surrender”

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 does the image of a messenger reveal about the flute’s role in drawing the gopīs to Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Write down the sequence described here: enchantment, attraction, anxiety, and surrender to Kṛṣṇa.

Live this todayThe Flute Acts as a MessengerThis 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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