1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by līlā and chapter

Antya-līlā · 20 chapters

1234567891011121314151617181920
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 18.88Antya 18.90

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 18.89

কৃষ্ণ রাধা লঞা বলে, গেলা কণ্ঠদঘ্ন জলে, ছাড়িলা তাঁহা, যাঁহা অগাধ পানী ।

তেঁহো কৃষ্ণকণ্ঠ ধরি’, ভাসে জলের উপরি, গজোৎখাতে যৈছে কমলিনী ॥ ৮৯ ॥

kṛṣṇa rādhā lañā bale, gelā kaṇṭha-daghna jale,

chāḍilā tāhāṅ, yāhāṅ agādha pānī

teṅho kṛṣṇa-kaṇṭha dhari’, bhāse jalera upari,

gajotkhāte yaiche kamalinī

Translation

“Kṛṣṇa forcibly swept Rādhārāṇī away and took Her into water up to Her neck. Then He released Her where the water was very deep. She grasped Kṛṣṇa’s neck, however, and floated on the water like a lotus flower plucked by the trunk of an elephant.

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.

Rādhārāṇī Grasps Kṛṣṇa’s Neck

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa forcibly swept Rādhārāṇī away and took Her into water up to Her neck.

  2. 2

    He released Her where the water was very deep, but She grasped His neck.

  3. 3

    As She floated, Rādhārāṇī resembled a lotus flower plucked by the trunk of an elephant.

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 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. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was unconscious, and His body had become unusually transformed.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Antya 18
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. kṛṣṇaLord Kṛṣṇa
  2. rādhāŚrīmatī Rādhārāṇī
  3. lañātaking
  4. baleforcibly
  5. gelāwent
  6. kaṇṭha-daghnaup to the neck
  7. jalein water
  8. chāḍilālet go
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Rādhā-bhāva · The confidential inner purpose

    The Lord’s desire to taste the love and perspective of Śrī Rādhā, illuminated by later ecstatic pastimes. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “rādhārāṇī”

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

How does the final lotus-and-elephant comparison shape your understanding of the scene?

Practice

Read the verse slowly and distinguish the actions described from the poetic comparison at the end.

Live this todayRādhārāṇī Grasps Kṛṣṇa’s NeckThis 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 18.89? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 9 · 2 minAsk Caitanya CaritamrtaBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the book's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnLīlās & chapters