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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 20: The Śikṣāṣṭaka Prayers

Antya 20.20 Antya 20.22

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 20.21

তৃণাদপি সুনীচেন তরোরিব সহিষ্ণুনা ।

অমানিনা মানদেন কীর্তনীয়ঃ সদা হরিঃ ॥ ২১ ॥

tṛṇād api su-nīcena

taror iva sahiṣṇunā

amāninā māna-dena

kīrtanīyaḥ sadā hariḥ

Translation

“ ‘One who thinks himself lower than the grass, who is more tolerant than a tree, and who does not expect personal honor but is always prepared to give all respect to others can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.’

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.

Humility and Respect Support Constant Chanting

1
One should think oneself lower than the grass and be more tolerant than a tree.
2
One should not expect personal honor but should always be prepared to give all respect to others.
3
With these qualities, one can very easily always chant the holy name of the Lord.

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:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu passed His nights tasting the meaning of the Śikṣāṣṭaka prayers in the company of Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī and Rāmānanda Rāya. 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.

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

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

tṛṇāt apithan downtrodden grass
su-nīcenabeing lower
taroḥthan a tree
ivalike
sahiṣṇunāwith tolerance
amānināwithout being puffed up by false pride
māna-denagiving respect to all
kīrtanīyaḥto be chanted
sadāalways
hariḥthe holy name of the Lord

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

Why this verse matters
The third prayer: humility, tolerance, honoring others, and continual chanting.
Dainya & humility · Making room for grace
The humility expressed by the author, devotees, transformed scholars, renunciants, and the Śikṣāṣṭaka. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “lower than”, “tolerant”
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: “chant”, “holy name”

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

Where can I offer respect today without expecting honor in return?

Practice

Give someone your respectful attention today without seeking recognition, then take a moment to chant.

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

Quoted in 3 lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 3 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 todayHumility and Respect Support Constant ChantingThis 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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