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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 4.63

যস্যাঙ্ঘ্রিপঙ্কজরজঃস্নপনং মহান্তো বাঞ্ছন্ত্যুমাপতিরিবাত্মতমোঽপহত্যৈ ।

যর্হ্যম্বুজাক্ষ ন লভেয় ভবৎপ্রসাদং জহ্যামসূন্ ব্রতকৃশাঞ্ছতজন্মভিঃ স্যাৎ ॥ ৬৩ ॥

yasyāṅghri-paṅkaja-rajaḥ-snapanaṁ mahānto

vāñchanty umā-patir ivātma-tamo-’pahatyai

yarhy ambujākṣa na labheya bhavat-prasādaṁ

jahyām asūn vrata-kṛśāñ chata-janmabhiḥ syāt

Translation

“ ‘O lotus-eyed one, great personalities like Lord Śiva desire to bathe in the dust of Your lotus feet to drive away ignorance. If I do not get the mercy of Your Lordship, I shall observe vows to reduce the duration of my life, and thus I shall give up bodies for hundreds of births if it is possible to get Your mercy in that way.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Rukmiṇīdevī Longs for Kṛṣṇa’s Mercy

  1. 1

    Rukmiṇīdevī says that even great personalities like Lord Śiva desire the dust of Kṛṣṇa’s lotus feet to drive away ignorance.

  2. 2

    After hearing Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental attributes, she desired Him as her husband. Her elder brother Rukmī instead wanted her to marry Śiśupāla.

  3. 3

    Deeply aggrieved, she sent Kṛṣṇa a confidential letter through a brāhmaṇa messenger. This verse expresses her intense longing for His mercy, even across hundreds of births.

Key points from the purport
  • Rukmiṇīdevī, the daughter of King Bhīṣmaka, had heard about Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental attributes, and thus she desired to get Kṛṣṇa as her husband.
  • Unfortunately, her elder brother Rukmī was envious of Kṛṣṇa and therefore wanted her to be offered to Śiśupāla.
  • Thus she wrote Kṛṣṇa a confidential letter, which was presented and read to Him by a brāhmaṇa messenger.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of CC Antya 4.63 quotesSB 10.52.43

This verse was spoken by Rukmiṇīdevī in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.52.43).

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Despair met with care. Sanātana’s wish to die is interrupted by the Lord’s protective insistence on his future service.

The mood of Antya 4 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Antya 4: Sanātana Gosvāmī Visits the Lord at Jagannātha Purī

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

The Lord informed Sanātana Gosvāmī about the death of his younger brother Anupama, who had great faith in the lotus feet of Lord Rāmacandra. One day Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said to Sanātana Gosvāmī, “Your decision to commit suicide is the result of the mode of ignorance.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Antya 4
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. yasyawhose
  2. aṅghriof feet
  3. paṅkajalotus
  4. rajaḥin the dust
  5. snapanambathing
  6. mahāntaḥgreat personalities
  7. vāñchantidesire
  8. umā-patiḥLord Śiva
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Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • 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”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Taking shelter

    Turning toward Kṛṣṇa through shelter, surrender, dependence on guru, and unconditional devotional fidelity. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “lotus feet”

  • Vipralambha · Love in separation

    Separation that intensifies remembrance and longing; especially central to the confidential pastimes at Purī. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “longing”

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 does Rukmiṇīdevī’s response to hearing Kṛṣṇa’s attributes help me appreciate devotional hearing?

Practice

Reread Rukmiṇīdevī’s prayer and offer a simple prayer of your own for Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.

Live this todayRukmiṇīdevī Longs for Kṛṣṇa’s 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.

Ask Caitanya CaritamrtaHave a question about CC Antya 4.63? Get an answer from the verses themselves.