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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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Madhya-līlā · 25 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 ›
Madhya-līlā · Chapter 11: The Beḍā-kīrtana Pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
Madhya 11.102Madhya 11.104

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 11.103

তাঁর কৃপা নহে যারে, পণ্ডিত নহে কেনে ।

দেখিলে শুনিলেহ তাঁরে ‘ঈশ্বর’ না মানে ॥ ১০৩ ॥

tāṅra kṛpā nahe yāre, paṇḍita nahe kene

dekhile śunileha tāṅre ‘īśvara’ nā māne

Translation

“If the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is not bestowed upon a person — regardless of how learned a scholar that person may be and regardless of his seeing or listening — he cannot accept Lord Caitanya as the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Learning Alone Cannot Replace the Lord's Mercy

  1. 1

    Without Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mercy, even a learned scholar cannot accept Him as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, despite seeing or listening.

  2. 2

    One cannot preach His glories all over the world without receiving His special power. Claiming to be a learned follower does not replace His favor.

  3. 3

    The purport identifies faultfinding with pure devotees, the worldwide Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement or its leader as a sign of lacking Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu's mercy. Such faultfinding prevents understanding how Lord Caitanya empowers a preacher.

Key points from the purport
  • The same principles can be applied to demoniac persons, even though they be in the sampradāya of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
  • Without receiving the Lord’s special power, one cannot preach His glories all over the world.
  • One must be considered bereft of the mercy of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu when he criticizes the Kṛṣṇa consciousness movement now spreading all over the world or finds fault with this movement or the leader of the movement.

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

Communal anticipation. Arriving devotees, kīrtana, and longing to meet the Lord converge.

The mood of Madhya 11 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 11: The Beḍā-kīrtana Pastimes of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

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

While Advaita Ācārya and the other devotees were coming to Jagannātha Purī, Svarūpa Dāmodara and Govinda, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s two personal assistants, went to receive all the devotees with garlands. From the roof of his palace, King Pratāparudra could see all the devotees arriving.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 11
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. tāṅra kṛpāHis mercy
  2. nahethere is not
  3. yāreunto whom
  4. paṇḍitalearned scholar
  5. naheeven though
  6. kenenevertheless
  7. dekhileeven by seeing
  8. śunilehaeven by listening
3

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”, “favor”

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

Does my learning help me appreciate devotional service, or does it lead me toward faultfinding?

Practice

Today, pause before expressing a faultfinding remark about a devotee, and pray for the Lord's mercy to understand their service.

Live this todayLearning Alone Cannot Replace the Lord'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.

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