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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 20.57

কুষ্ঠী-বিপ্রের রমণী, পতিব্রতা-শিরোমণি, পতি লাগি’ কৈলা বেশ্যার সেবা ।

স্তম্ভিল সূর্যের গতি, জীয়াইল মৃত পতি, তুষ্ট কৈল মুখ্য তিন-দেবা ॥ ৫৭ ॥

kuṣṭhī-viprera ramaṇī,  pativratā-śiromaṇi,

pati lāgi’ kailā veśyāra sevā

stambhila sūryera gati,  jīyāila mṛta pati,

tuṣṭa kaila mukhya tina-devā

Translation

“The wife of a brāhmaṇa suffering from leprosy manifested herself as the topmost of all chaste women by serving a prostitute to satisfy her husband. She thus stopped the movement of the sun, brought her dead husband back to life and satisfied the three principal demigods [Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara].

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Serve Kṛṣṇa Without Personal Motives

  1. 1

    The brāhmaṇa’s wife served with extraordinary faithfulness. Seeing her chastity, her husband abandoned his sinful intentions.

  2. 2

    Her determination to serve her husband pleased Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara. They blessed her husband to be cured and brought back to life.

  3. 3

    The purport gives this example to emphasize exclusive service for Kṛṣṇa’s satisfaction, without personal motives. Such service makes life successful.

Key points from the purport
  • The Āditya Purāṇa, Mārkaṇḍeya Purāṇa and Padma Purāṇa tell about a brāhmaṇa who was suffering from leprosy but had a very chaste and faithful wife.
  • When the prostitute agreed to associate with him, the wife brought her the leprotic husband.
  • Because of her strong determination to serve her husband, the three deities — namely Brahmā, Viṣṇu and Maheśvara — were very happy, and they gave her the benediction that her husband would be cured and brought back to life.

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

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
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. kuṣṭhī-vipreraof a brāhmaṇa who suffered from leprosy
  2. ramaṇīthe wife
  3. pati-vratā-śiromaṇithe topmost of chaste women
  4. pati lāgi’for the satisfaction of her husband
  5. kailāperformed
  6. veśyāra sevāservice to a prostitute
  7. stambhilastopped
  8. sūryera gatithe movement of the sun
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Sevā · Love translated into service

    Devotional service expressed through cleansing, caring, teaching, honoring others, and living as Kṛṣṇa’s servant. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “serving”, “service”, “served”

  • 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: “blessed”

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 personal expectation could I set aside in serving Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Do one small act of service for Kṛṣṇa today without seeking praise or a reward.

Live this todayServe Kṛṣṇa Without Personal MotivesThis 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 20.57? Get an answer from the verses themselves.