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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 19: The Inconceivable Behavior of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

Antya 18.121 Antya 19.2

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 19.1

বন্দে তং কৃষ্ণচৈতন্যং মাতৃভক্তশিরোমণিম্ ।

প্রলপ্য মুখসংঘর্ষী মধুদ্যানে ললাস যঃ ॥ ১ ॥

vande taṁ kṛṣṇa-caitanyaṁ

mātṛ-bhakta-śiromaṇim

pralapya mukha-saṅgharṣī

madhūdyāne lalāsa yaḥ

Translation

Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the most exalted of all devotees of mothers, spoke like a madman and rubbed His face against the walls. Overwhelmed by emotions of ecstatic love, He would sometimes enter the Jagannātha-vallabha garden to perform His pastimes. I offer my respectful obeisances unto Him.

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.

Offering Respect to the Lord’s Ecstatic Love

1
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is praised as the most exalted of all devotees of mothers.
2
Overwhelmed by ecstatic love, He spoke like a madman and rubbed His face against the walls.
3
He sometimes entered the Jagannātha-vallabha garden to perform His pastimes. The author offers respectful obeisances unto Him.

How it feels

Longing beyond ordinary categories. Extreme separation alternates with moments of visionary encounter.

The mood of Antya 19 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Antya 19: The Inconceivable Behavior of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

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

The Lord’s condition was so serious that at night He would bruise and bloody His face by rubbing it against the walls. To stop this, Svarūpa Dāmodara asked Śaṅkara Paṇḍita to stay at night in the same room with the Lord.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in Antya 19

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

vandeI offer my respectful obeisances
tamunto Him
kṛṣṇa-caitanyamLord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
mātṛ-bhaktaof great devotees of mothers
śiro-maṇimthe crown jewel
pralapyatalking like a madman
mukha-saṅgharṣīwho used to rub His face
madhu-udyānein the garden known as Jagannātha-vallabha
lalāsaenjoyed
yaḥwho

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.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does the author’s offering of respect guide your approach to these extraordinary pastimes?

Practice

Read the verse slowly and offer respectful obeisances to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Live this todayOffering Respect to the Lord’s Ecstatic LoveThis 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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