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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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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 18.97Antya 18.99

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 18.98

মিত্রের মিত্র সহবাসী, চক্রবাকে লুটে আসি’, কৃষ্ণের রাজ্যে ঐছে ব্যবহার ।

অপরিচিত শত্রুর মিত্র, রাখে উৎপল, — এ বড় চিত্র, এই বড় ‘বিরোধ-অলঙ্কার’ ॥ ৯৮ ॥

mitrera mitra saha-vāsī, cakravāke luṭe āsi’,

kṛṣṇera rājye aiche vyavahāra

aparicita śatrura mitra, rākhe utpala, — e baḍa citra,

ei baḍa ‘virodha-alaṅkāra’

Translation

“The blue lotuses are friends of the sun-god, and though they all live together, the blue lotuses plunder the cakravākas. The red lotuses, however, blossom at night and are therefore strangers or enemies to the cakravākas. Yet in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes the red lotuses, which are the hands of the gopīs, protect their cakravāka breasts. This is a metaphor of contradiction.”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Contradiction beautifies the description of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes

  1. 1

    Blue lotuses blossom at sunrise, when cakravāka birds also appear. Both are friends of the sun, yet Kṛṣṇa’s blue-lotus hands plunder the gopīs’ cakravāka breasts.

  2. 2

    Normally birds move and lotuses stand still. Here the lotus-like hands move toward the bird-like breasts, making this a reverse analogy.

  3. 3

    Red lotuses blossom at night and are strangers to the cakravākas. Yet the gopīs’ red-lotus hands protect their cakravāka breasts—a wonderful reversal of the usual relationship.

Key points from the purport
  • The cakravāka birds also appear when the sun rises, and therefore the cakravākas and blue lotuses meet.
  • Although the blue lotus is a friend of the sun, in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes it nevertheless plunders their mutual friend the cakravāka.
  • Normally, cakravākas move about whereas lotuses stand still, but herein Kṛṣṇa’s hands, which are compared to blue lotuses, attack the breasts of the gopīs, which are compared to cakravākas.

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:

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 summaryBack to this verse in Antya 18
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. mitreraof the sun-god
  2. mitrathe friend
  3. saha-vāsīliving together with the cakravāka birds
  4. cakravākethe cakravāka birds
  5. luṭeplunder
  6. āsi’coming
  7. kṛṣṇera rājyein the kingdom of Kṛṣṇa
  8. aichesuch
3

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’”

  • Kīrtana community · A movement of shared hearts

    Devotional community as a living network of branches, service, festivals, care, and collective chanting. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “together”

  • Bhāva & rasa · The language of sacred feeling

    Transcendental devotional moods and relationships, discussed explicitly in Rāmānanda’s dialogue and the teachings on prema. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “relationship”

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 understanding these reversals help you appreciate the verse’s poetry?

Practice

Reread the verse and identify one relationship that is reversed in Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes.

Live this todayContradiction beautifies the description of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimesThis 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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