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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 2.143

মহাপ্রভু — কৃপাসিন্ধু, কে পারে বুঝিতে ? প্রিয় ভক্তে দণ্ড করেন ধর্ম বুঝাইতে ॥ ১৪৩ ॥

mahāprabhu — kṛpā-sindhu, ke pāre bujhite?

priya bhakte daṇḍa karena dharma bujhāite

Translation

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the ocean of mercy. Who can understand Him? When He chastises His dear devotees, He certainly does so to reestablish the principles of religion or duty.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Mercy Upholds Sincere Devotional Conduct

  1. 1

    Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the ocean of mercy and the most magnanimous incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. His chastisement of a dear devotee reestablished religious duty.

  2. 2

    Pure devotional service must be free from hypocrisy. Adopting the dress of the renounced order while secretly maintaining illicit relationships contradicts its principles.

  3. 3

    Śrīmatī Mādhavī-devī was highly elevated, and asking her for rice was only a slight deviation. Nevertheless, the Lord enforced strict conduct for renunciants to prevent future misuse of this example.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura says in this connection that Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the ocean of mercy, chastised Junior Haridāsa, although Junior Haridāsa was His dear devotee, to establish that one in the devotional line, engaged in pure devotional service, should not be a hypocrite.
  • To teach such men, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu chastised His dear devotee Haridāsa for a slight deviation from the regulative principles.
  • Had Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu not chastised Junior Haridāsa for this slight deviation, so-called devotees of the Lord would have exploited the example of Junior Haridāsa to continue their habit of illicit connections with women unrestrictedly.

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

Sorrow and uncompromising discipline. Junior Haridāsa’s exclusion and death present an ethically painful episode.

The mood of Antya 2 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Antya 2: The Chastisement of Junior Haridāsa

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

Because of this, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu rejected Junior Haridāsa, and despite all the requests of the Lord’s stalwart devotees, the Lord did not accept him again. One year after this incident, Junior Haridāsa went to the confluence of the Ganges and Yamunā and committed suicide.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Antya 2
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. mahāprabhuŚrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
  2. kṛpā-sindhuthe ocean of mercy
  3. ke pāre bujhitewho can understand
  4. priya bhakteunto His dear devotees
  5. daṇḍa karenamakes chastisement
  6. dharma bujhāiteto establish principles of religion or duty
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Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Kṛpā & transformation · Mercy changes a life

    Transformative encounters with grace, from scholars and travelers to renunciants and householders. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “mercy”

  • Audārya · Love that moves outward

    The freely offered gift of bhakti and prema, especially through nāma-saṅkīrtana and Mahāprabhu’s compassionate dealings. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “magnanimous”

  • 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: “relationships”

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

Where do I need to bring my conduct into closer agreement with my devotional commitments?

Practice

Review one devotional commitment and choose one concrete way to honor it honestly today.

Live this todayMercy Upholds Sincere Devotional ConductThis 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.

Ask Caitanya CaritamrtaHave a question about CC Antya 2.143? Get an answer from the verses themselves.