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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 17.39Antya 17.41

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 17.40

নদজ্জলদনিস্বনঃ শ্রবণকর্ষিসচ্ছিঞ্জিতঃ সনর্মরসসূচকাক্ষরপদার্থভঙ্গ্যুক্তিকঃ ।

রমাদিক-বরাঙ্গনা-হৃদয়হারি-বংশীকলঃ স মে মদনমোহনঃ সখি তনোতি কর্ণস্পৃহাম্ ॥ ৪০ ॥

nadaj-jalada-nisvanaḥ śravaṇa-karṣi-sac-chiñjitaḥ

sanarma-rasa-sūcakākṣara-padārtha-bhaṅgy-uktikaḥ

ramādika-varāṅganā-hṛdaya-hāri-vaṁśī-kalaḥ

sa me madana-mohanaḥ sakhi tanoti karṇa-spṛhām

Translation

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “ ‘My dear friend, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa, has a voice as deep as a cloud resounding in the sky. With the tinkling of His ornaments He attracts the ears of the gopīs, and with the sound of His flute He attracts even the goddess of fortune and other beautiful women. That Personality of Godhead, known as Madana-mohana, whose joking words carry many indications and deep meanings, is increasing the lusty desires of My ears.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa’s Sounds Deepen the Ears’ Longing

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Personality of Godhead, has a voice as deep as a cloud resounding in the sky.

  2. 2

    His tinkling ornaments attract the ears of the gopīs, and His flute attracts even the goddess of fortune and other beautiful women.

  3. 3

    Known as Madana-mohana, His joking words carry many indications and deep meanings, increasing the speaker’s eager desires to hear Him. The purport identifies this verse as coming from the Govinda-līlāmṛta.

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. nadatresounding
  2. jaladathe cloud
  3. nisvanaḥwhose voice
  4. śravaṇathe ears
  5. karṣiattracting
  6. sat-śiñjitaḥthe tinkling of whose ornaments
  7. sa-narmawith deep meaning
  8. rasa-sūcakajoking
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: “gopīs”

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 description of Kṛṣṇa’s sounds most draws your attention, and why?

Practice

Choose one description of Kṛṣṇa’s voice, ornaments, flute, or words and reflect on it quietly for one minute.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa’s Sounds Deepen the Ears’ LongingThis 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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