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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 17.44Antya 17.46

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 17.45

সে অমৃতের এক-কণ, কর্ণ-চকোর-জীবন, কর্ণ-চকোর জীয়ে সেই আশে ।

ভাগ্যবশে কভু পায়, অভাগ্যে কভু না পায়, না পাইলে মরয়ে পিয়াসে ॥ ৪৫ ॥

se amṛtera eka-kaṇa, karṇa-cakora-jīvana,

karṇa-cakora jīye sei āśe

bhāgya-vaśe kabhu pāya, abhāgye kabhu nā pāya,

nā pāile maraye piyāse

Translation

“One particle of that transcendental, blissful nectar is the life and soul of the ear, which is like a cakora bird that lives in hope of tasting that nectar. Sometimes, by good fortune, the bird can taste it, but at other times he unfortunately cannot and therefore almost dies of thirst.

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 Ear Thirsts for Kṛṣṇa’s Nectar

  1. 1

    Even one particle of that transcendental, blissful nectar is the life and soul of the ear.

  2. 2

    The ear is compared to a cakora bird living in hope of tasting that nectar.

  3. 3

    Sometimes the bird tastes it by good fortune. At other times, unable to taste it, the bird almost dies of thirst.

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. se amṛteraof that nectar
  2. eka-kaṇaone particle
  3. karṇa-cakoraof the ear, which is like a cakora bird
  4. jīvanathe life
  5. karṇathe ear
  6. cakorathe cakora bird
  7. jīyelives
  8. sei āśewith that hope
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does the thirsty cakora bird help you understand about the longing expressed here?

Practice

Read this verse alongside the preceding description of Kṛṣṇa’s speech, and reflect for one minute on the ear’s thirst for that nectar.

Live this todayThe Ear Thirsts for Kṛṣṇa’s NectarThis 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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