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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

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 ›

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 18.97

পদ্মোৎপল — অচেতন, চক্রবাক — সচেতন, চক্রবাকে পদ্ম আস্বাদয় ।

ইহাঁ দুঁহার উল্টা স্থিতি, ধর্ম হৈল বিপরীতি, কৃষ্ণের রাজ্যে ঐছে ন্যায় হয় ॥ ৯৭ ॥

padmotpala — acetana, cakravāka — sacetana,

cakravāke padma āsvādaya

ihāṅ duṅhāra ulṭā sthiti, dharma haila viparīti,

kṛṣṇera rājye aiche nyāya haya

Translation

“Blue and red lotus flowers are unconscious objects, whereas cakravākas are conscious and alive. Nevertheless, in ecstatic love, the blue lotuses began to taste the cakravākas. This is a reversal of their natural behavior, but in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s kingdom such reversals are a principle of His pastimes.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Ecstatic Love Reverses Nature’s Ordinary Behavior

  1. 1

    Lotus flowers are unconscious objects, whereas cakravāka birds are conscious and alive.

  2. 2

    Usually the cakravāka bird tastes the lotus flower. Here, in ecstatic love, the lotus tastes the bird.

  3. 3

    This reversal of natural behavior is a principle of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes in His kingdom.

Key points from the purport
  • Generally the cakravāka bird tastes the lotus flower, but in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes the lotus, which is usually lifeless, tastes the cakravāka bird.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

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. padma-utpalathe blue and red lotus flowers
  2. acetanaunconscious
  3. cakravākathe cakravāka birds
  4. sa-cetanaconscious
  5. cakravākethe cakravāka birds
  6. padmathe blue lotus flowers
  7. āsvādayataste
  8. ihāṅhere
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

How does the purport’s explanation help you understand the reversal described in this verse?

Practice

Write one sentence contrasting the bird’s usual behavior with the reversal in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes.

Live this todayEcstatic Love Reverses Nature’s Ordinary BehaviorThis 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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