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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 20.89Antya 20.92

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Texts Antya 20.90-91

আমি — অতিক্ষুদ্র জীব, পক্ষী রাঙ্গাটুনি ।

সে যৈছে তৃষ্ণায় পিয়ে সমুদ্রের পানী ॥ ৯০ ॥

ami — ati-kṣudra jīva, pakṣī rāṅgā-ṭuni

se yaiche tṛṣṇāya piye samudrera pānī

Translation

I am a very insignificant living being, like a small red-beaked bird. Just as such a bird drinks the water of the sea to quench its thirst, so I have touched only a drop of the ocean of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pastimes. From this example, you may all understand how expansive are the pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

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.

A Drop From an Ocean of Pastimes

  1. 1

    The author considers himself a very insignificant living being, like a small red-beaked bird.

  2. 2

    A bird drinks only enough seawater to quench its thirst. Similarly, the author says he has touched only a drop of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pastimes.

  3. 3

    This comparison helps readers understand how expansive Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s pastimes are.

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:

For the twelve years Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu lived at Jagannātha Purī, He relished the taste of reciting such transcendental verses. Altogether the Lord was present in this mortal world for forty-eight years.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Antya 20
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. āmiI
  2. ati-kṣudra jīvaa very insignificant living being
  3. pakṣī rāṅgā-ṭunijust like a little bird with a red beak
  4. sehe
  5. yaichejust as
  6. tṛṣṇāyain thirst
  7. piyedrinks
  8. samudrera pānīthe water of the sea
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • 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: “insignificant”

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

How might this image help you approach these pastimes with humility?

Practice

Reread the bird-and-ocean comparison slowly, remembering how small a portion the author says he has touched.

Live this todayA Drop From an Ocean of PastimesThis 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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