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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

1Say the verse. Read the transliteration aloud, slowly.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each word and its meaning.
3Read the translation. Ask: what is happening here, and who is it about?
4Read the purport slowly. Read it twice. Don't rush.
5See Lord Caitanya as Kṛṣṇa. Remember who is acting in the pastime.
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 18.87 Antya 18.89

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 18.88

সহস্র-করে জল সেকে, সহস্র নেত্রে গোপী দেখে, সহস্র-পদে নিকট গমনে ।

সহস্রমুখ-চুম্বনে, সহস্রবপু-সঙ্গমে, গোপীনর্ম শুনে সহস্র-কাণে ॥ ৮৮ ॥

sahasra-kare jala seke, sahasra netre gopī dekhe,

sahasra-pade nikaṭa gamane

sahasra-mukha-cumbane, sahasra-vapu-saṅgame,

gopī-narma śune sahasra-kāṇe

Translation

“Thousands of hands splashed water, and the gopīs saw Kṛṣṇa with thousands of eyes. With thousands of legs they came near Him, and they kissed Him with thousands of faces. Thousands of bodies embraced Him. The gopīs heard His joking words with thousands of ears.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Gopīs’ Senses Turn Toward Kṛṣṇa

1
Thousands of hands splashed water, and thousands of eyes saw Kṛṣṇa.
2
With thousands of legs the gopīs approached Him; with thousands of faces and bodies they kissed and embraced Him.
3
Thousands of ears heard Kṛṣṇa’s joking words, adding hearing to the many exchanges described.

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

Antya 18: Rescuing the Lord from the Sea

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

Mistaking the sea for the Yamunā River, He jumped into it, hoping to see the water pastimes Kṛṣṇa enjoyed with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and the other gopīs. As He floated in the sea, however, He was washed away to the Koṇārka temple, where a fisherman, thinking that the Lord’s body was a big fish, caught Him in his net and brought Him ashore.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in Antya 18

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

sahasrathousands
karewith hands
jalawater
sekethrow
sahasrathousands
netrewith eyes
gopīthe gopīs
dekhesee

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”
Kṛpā & transformation · Mercy changes a life
Transformative encounters with grace, from scholars and travelers to renunciants and householders. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “embraced”

Concept links are an editorial study map; only the verse is the text itself.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What do you notice about how seeing, moving, touching, and hearing all center on Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

List the actions in this verse and notice how each connects the gopīs with Kṛṣṇa.

Live this todayThe Gopīs’ Senses Turn Toward KṛṣṇaThis 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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