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Study a Verse

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 18.95 Antya 18.97

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 18.96

উঠিল বহু রক্তোৎপল, পৃথক্ পৃথক্ যুগল, পদ্মগণের কৈল নিবারণ ।

‘পদ্ম’ চাহে লুটি’ নিতে, ‘উৎপল’ চাহে রাখিতে’, ‘চক্রবাক’ লাগি’ দুঁহার রণ ॥ ৯৬ ॥

uṭhila bahu raktotpala, pṛthak pṛthak yugala,

padma-gaṇera kaila nivāraṇa

‘padma’ cāhe luṭi’ nite, ‘utpala’ cāhe rākhite’,

‘cakravāka’ lāgi’ duṅhāra raṇa

Translation

“The hands of the gopīs, which resembled red lotus flowers, arose from the water in pairs to obstruct the bluish flowers. The blue lotuses tried to plunder the white cakravāka birds, and the red lotuses tried to protect them. Thus there was a fight between the two.

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.

Red Lotuses Resist the Blue Lotuses

1
The gopīs’ hands rose from the water in pairs and are compared to red lotus flowers.
2
Their hands obstructed Kṛṣṇa’s hands, described as bluish flowers.
3
The blue lotuses tried to plunder the white cakravāka birds, while the red lotuses tried to protect them. Their opposing actions are described as a fight.

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:

Since the fisherman was afraid of being haunted by a ghost, Svarūpa Dāmodara gave him a slap and chanted Hare Kṛṣṇa, which immediately pacified him. Thereafter, when the devotees chanted the Hare Kṛṣṇa mahā-mantra loudly, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu came to His external consciousness.

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

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

uṭhilaarose
bahumany
rakta-utpalared lotus flowers
pṛthak pṛthakseparate
yugalacouples
padma-gaṇeraof the bluish lotus flowers
kailadid
nivāraṇaobstruction

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”, “gopīs’”

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

How does recognizing whose hands the lotuses represent help you follow the verse?

Practice

Reread the verse, identifying the hands represented by the red and blue lotuses.

Live this todayRed Lotuses Resist the Blue LotusesThis 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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