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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 20: The Śikṣāṣṭaka Prayers

Antya 20.15 Antya 20.17

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 20.16

নাম্নামকারি বহুধা নিজসর্বশক্তি- স্তত্রার্পিতা নিয়মিতঃ স্মরণে ন কালঃ ।

এতাদৃশী তব কৃপা ভগবন্মমাপি দুর্দৈবমীদৃশমিহাজনি নানুরাগঃ ॥ ১৬ ॥

nāmnām akāri bahudhā nija-sarva-śaktis

tatrārpitā niyamitaḥ smaraṇe na kālaḥ

etādṛśī tava kṛpā bhagavan mamāpi

durdaivam īdṛśam ihājani nānurāgaḥ

Translation

“ ‘My Lord, O Supreme Personality of Godhead, in Your holy name there is all good fortune for the living entity, and therefore You have many names, such as “Kṛṣṇa” and “Govinda,” by which You expand Yourself. You have invested all Your potencies in those names, and there are no hard and fast rules for remembering them. My dear Lord, although You bestow such mercy upon the fallen, conditioned souls by liberally teaching Your holy names, I am so unfortunate that I commit offenses while chanting the holy name, and therefore I do not achieve attachment for chanting.’

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.

The Holy Name Holds All Divine Potencies

1
The Lord’s holy name contains all good fortune for the living entity. Through His many names, such as Kṛṣṇa and Govinda, He expands Himself.
2
The Lord has invested all His potencies in His names, and there are no hard and fast rules for remembering them. He mercifully teaches these names to fallen, conditioned souls.
3
The prayer humbly laments committing offenses while chanting. Despite the Lord’s mercy, these offenses prevent attachment for chanting.

How it feels

Unconditional devotion. Eight prayers move from cleansing the heart to love that endures even without reciprocation.

The mood of Antya 20 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Antya 20: The Śikṣāṣṭaka Prayers

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

Sometimes He recited verses from Jayadeva Gosvāmī’s Gīta-govinda, from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, from Śrī Rāmānanda Rāya’s Jagannātha-vallabha-nāṭaka or from Śrī Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura’s Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta. In this way, He became absorbed in ecstatic emotions.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in Antya 20

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

nāmnāmof the holy names of the Lord
akārimanifested
bahudhāvarious kinds
nija-sarva-śaktiḥall kinds of personal potencies
tatrain that
arpitābestowed
niyamitaḥrestricted
smaraṇein remembering

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

Why this verse matters
The second prayer: the gift of the divine names and the speaker’s lack of attachment.
Nāma-saṅkīrtana · The holy name shared together
Chanting the holy names as the yuga-dharma, the Lord’s public movement, and the opening prayer of Śikṣāṣṭaka. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “chanting”, “holy name”
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”, “mercifully”

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 can I receive the Lord’s freely given holy names with greater humility?

Practice

Take a brief pause today to remember the names Kṛṣṇa and Govinda, and pray humbly for attachment to chanting.

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

Quoted in 10 lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 10 lectures

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayThe Holy Name Holds All Divine PotenciesThis 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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