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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 18: Rescuing the Lord from the Sea
Antya 18.15Antya 18.18

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Texts Antya 18.16-17

ভক্ত-প্রেমার যত দশা, যে গতি প্রকার ।

যত দুঃখ, যত সুখ, যতেক বিকার ॥ ১৬ ॥

bhakta-premāra yata daśā, ye gati prakāra

yata duḥkha, yata sukha, yateka vikāra

Translation

Kṛṣṇa Himself cannot fully understand the conditions, the mode of progress, the happiness and unhappiness, and the moods of ecstatic love of His devotees. He therefore accepts the role of a devotee to taste these emotions fully.

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.

Kṛṣṇa becomes a devotee to taste love

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa Himself cannot fully understand the conditions and mode of progress of His devotees’ ecstatic love.

  2. 2

    This love includes happiness, unhappiness, and varied moods that He wishes to taste fully.

  3. 3

    He therefore accepts the role of a devotee. In this account of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, it is Kṛṣṇa Himself who takes that role.

How it feels

Desperate longing and relief. Mistaking the sea for Yamunā, the Lord enters it; devotees find and revive Him.

The mood of Antya 18 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Antya 18: Rescuing the Lord from the Sea

From Śrīla Prabhupāda's chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

As soon as the fisherman touched the Lord’s body, he became mad in ecstatic love of Kṛṣṇa. His own madness frightened him, however, because he thought that he was being haunted by a ghost.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Antya 18
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. bhakta-premāraof the ecstatic emotion of the devotee
  2. yataall
  3. daśāconditions
  4. yewhich
  5. gati prakāramode of progress
  6. yataall
  7. duḥkhaunhappiness
  8. yataall
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: “ecstatic love”

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 Kṛṣṇa’s acceptance of a devotee’s role reveal to you about the depth of His devotees’ love?

Practice

Reread the final sentence today and reflect on Kṛṣṇa’s purpose: to taste His devotees’ emotions fully.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa becomes a devotee to taste loveThis 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 18.16-17? Get an answer from the verses themselves.