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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 6.17

হেন-কালে মুলুকের এক ম্লেচ্ছ অধিকারী ।

সপ্তগ্রাম-মুলুকের সে হয় ‘চৌধুরী’ ॥ ১৭ ॥

hena-kāle mulukera eka mleccha adhikārī

saptagrāma-mulukera se haya ‘caudhurī’

Translation

At that time there was a Muslim official collecting the taxes of Saptagrāma.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Understanding the Tax Collector’s Responsibility

  1. 1

    A Muslim official was collecting the taxes of Saptagrāma.

  2. 2

    Under the Muslim government, the appointed collector collected taxes from local zamindars, or landholders.

  3. 3

    The collector kept one fourth as his profit and delivered the balance to the government treasury.

Key points from the purport
  • Formerly, when the Muslim government was in power, the person appointed tax collector would collect the taxes of the local zamindars, or landholders.
  • He would keep one fourth of the collection for himself as a profit, and the balance he would deliver to the treasury of the government.

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

Longing fulfilled. Raghunātha’s sustained desire for the Lord culminates in arrival, shelter, and renunciation.

The mood of Antya 6 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Antya 6: The Meeting of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī

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

In the meantime, however, a Muslim official became envious of Hiraṇya dāsa, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī’s uncle, and induced some big official court minister to have him arrested. Thus Hiraṇya dāsa left his home, but by the intelligence of Raghunātha dāsa the misunderstanding was mitigated.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Antya 6
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. hena-kāleat this time
  2. mulukeraof the country
  3. ekaone
  4. mlecchaMuslim
  5. adhikārīofficial
  6. saptagrāma-mulukeraof the place known as Saptagrāma
  7. sethat person
  8. hayais
  9. caudhurītax collector
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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: “delivered”

Concept links are an editorial study map; only the verse is the text itself.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does knowing the collector’s allotted share help me understand his responsibility?

Practice

Write down the two portions of the tax collection: one fourth for the collector and three fourths for the government.

Live this todayUnderstanding the Tax Collector’s ResponsibilityThis 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 6.17? Get an answer from the verses themselves.