1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by līlā and chapter

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 7.42

পতিসুতান্বয়ভ্রাতৃবান্ধবা- নতিবিলঙ্ঘ্য তেঽন্ত্যচ্যুতাগতাঃ ।

গতিবিদস্তবোদ্গীতমোহিতাঃ কিতব যোষিতঃ কস্ত্যজেন্নিশি ॥ ৪২ ॥

pati-sutānvaya-bhrātṛ-bāndhavān

ativilaṅghya te ’nty acyutāgatāḥ

gati-vidas tavodgīta-mohitāḥ

kitava yoṣitaḥ kas tyajen niśi

Translation

“ ‘O dear Kṛṣṇa, we gopīs have neglected the order of our husbands, sons, family, brothers and friends and have left their company to come to You. You know everything about our desires. We have come only because we are attracted by the supreme music of Your flute. But You are a great cheater, for who else would give up the company of young girls like us in the dead of night?’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Gopīs Speak Their Hearts to Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    The gopīs tell Kṛṣṇa that they have left their families’ company and neglected their orders to come to Him.

  2. 2

    They have come only because they are attracted by the supreme music of His flute, and they acknowledge that He knows all their desires.

  3. 3

    They call Kṛṣṇa a great cheater, asking who else would abandon young girls who had come to Him in the dead of night.

How it feels

Pride softened by grace. Humor and correction lead toward humility and a relationship of devotion.

The mood of Antya 7 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Antya 7: The Meeting of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Vallabha Bhaṭṭa

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

In this chapter, Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s meeting with Vallabha Bhaṭṭa is described. There was some joking behavior between these two personalities, and finally Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu corrected Vallabha Bhaṭṭa and sympathetically accepted an invitation from him.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Antya 7
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. patihusbands
  2. sutasons
  3. anvayafamily
  4. bhrātṛbrothers
  5. bāndhavānfriends
  6. ativilaṅghyawithout caring for
  7. teYour
  8. antidear shelter
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Sādhu-saṅga · Love grows through association

    Spiritual association shapes the movement, empowers disciples, and reveals truths through loving conversations. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “company of”

  • Vraja-smaraṇa · Remembrance of Vṛndāvana

    The remembered sweetness of Vraja that colors Mahāprabhu’s pilgrimage, Ratha-yātrā, and later states of separation. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “gopīs”

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 do the gopīs’ words reveal about their longing for Kṛṣṇa’s company?

Practice

Reread the gopīs’ words and write one sentence about their attraction to Kṛṣṇa.

Live this todayThe Gopīs Speak Their Hearts to KṛṣṇaThis 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 7.42? Get an answer from the verses themselves.