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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 19.46 Antya 19.48

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 19.47

অরে বিধি, তুই বড়ই নিঠুর ।

অন্যোঽন্য দুর্লভ জন, প্রেমে করাঞা সম্মিলন, ‘অকৃতার্থান্’ কেনে করিস্ দূর ? ৪৭ ।। ধ্রু ।। ॥ ৪৭ ॥

are vidhi, tui baḍa-i niṭhura

anyo’nya durlabha jana, preme karāñā sammilana,

‘akṛtārthān’ kene karis dūra?

Translation

“Oh, cruel Providence! You are very unkind, for you bring together in love people who are rarely in touch with each other. Then, after you have made Them meet but before They are fulfilled, you again spread Them far apart.

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.

Meeting Makes Separation More Painful

1
Providence is called cruel and unkind for bringing together in love people who rarely meet.
2
Their meeting does not reach fulfillment. Before they are satisfied, Providence spreads them far apart again.
3
The lament centers on the contrast between a precious meeting and renewed separation. What brought hope becomes a cause of sorrow.

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:

When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu read it, His ecstasy was so great that all the devotees feared that the Lord would very soon pass away. The Lord’s condition was so serious that at night He would bruise and bloody His face by rubbing it against the walls.

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

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

areoh
vidhiProvidence
tuiyou
baḍa-ivery
niṭhuracruel
anyaḥ anyafor one another
durlabha janapersons rarely obtained
premein love

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

Vipralambha · Love in separation
Separation that intensifies remembrance and longing; especially central to the confidential pastimes at Purī. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “separation”, “lament”
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”
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: “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 rarity of a meeting deepen the pain described here?

Practice

Notice the sequence of meeting, unfulfilled longing, and separation; summarize it in one sentence.

Live this todayMeeting Makes Separation More PainfulThis 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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