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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
  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 ›
Antya-līlā · Chapter 20: The Śikṣāṣṭaka Prayers
Antya 20.31Antya 20.33

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Antya 20.32

অয়ি নন্দতনুজ কিঙ্করং পতিতং মাং বিষমে ভবাম্বুধৌ ।

কৃপয়া তব পাদপঙ্কজস্থিতধূলীসদৃশং বিচিন্তয় ॥ ৩২ ॥

ayi nanda-tanuja kiṅkaraṁ

patitaṁ māṁ viṣame bhavāmbudhau

kṛpayā tava pāda-paṅkaja-

sthita-dhūlī-sadṛśaṁ vicintaya

Translation

“ ‘O My Lord, O Kṛṣṇa, son of Mahārāja Nanda, I am Your eternal servant, but because of My own fruitive acts I have fallen into this horrible ocean of nescience. Now please be causelessly merciful to Me. Consider Me a particle of dust at Your lotus feet.’

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

An Eternal Servant Prays for Mercy

  1. 1

    The prayer addresses Kṛṣṇa, son of Mahārāja Nanda, and declares, “I am Your eternal servant.”

  2. 2

    It acknowledges that one’s own fruitive acts have caused a fall into the horrible ocean of nescience, or ignorance.

  3. 3

    It begs for Kṛṣṇa’s causeless mercy and asks to be considered a particle of dust at His lotus feet.

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

Further reading

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 summaryBack to this verse in Antya 20
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. ayiO My Lord
  2. nanda-tanujathe son of Nanda Mahārāja, Kṛṣṇa
  3. kiṅkaramthe servant
  4. patitamfallen
  5. māmMe
  6. viṣamehorrible
  7. bhava-ambudhauin the ocean of nescience
  8. kṛpayāby causeless mercy
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Why this verse matters

    The fifth prayer: identifying oneself as Kṛṣṇa’s servant and seeking shelter.

  • 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: “merciful”, “mercy”

  • 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: “fallen”

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

What does this prayer teach you about approaching Kṛṣṇa as His eternal servant?

Practice

Read this prayer slowly once today, asking Kṛṣṇa for causeless mercy and a place at His lotus feet.

5

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

Quoted in 6 lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 6 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 todayAn Eternal Servant Prays for MercyThis 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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