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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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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 13: The Ecstatic Dancing of the Lord at Ratha-yātrā
Madhya 13.135Madhya 13.137

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 13.136

আহুশ্চ তে নলিন-নাভ পদারবিন্দং

যোগেশ্বরৈর্হৃদি বিচিন্ত্যমগাধবোধৈঃ ।

সংসারকূপপতিতোত্তরণাবলম্বং

গেহং জুষামপি মনস্যুদিয়াৎ সদা নঃ ॥ ১৩৬ ॥

āhuś ca te nalina-nābha padāravindaṁ

yogeśvarair hṛdi vicintyam agādha-bodhaiḥ

saṁsāra-kūpa-patitottaraṇāvalambaṁ

gehaṁ juṣām api manasy udiyāt sadā naḥ

Translation

“[The gopīs spoke thus:] ‘Dear Lord, whose navel is just like a lotus flower, Your lotus feet are the only shelter for those who have fallen into the deep well of material existence. Your feet are worshiped and meditated upon by great mystic yogīs and highly learned philosophers. We wish that these lotus feet may also be awakened within our hearts, although we are only ordinary persons engaged in household affairs.’”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Gopīs’ Pure Absorption in Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    The gopīs were interested only in bhakti-yoga, not karma-yoga, jñāna-yoga or dhyāna-yoga. Rather than meditate on the Lord’s lotus feet, they preferred to place them on their breasts.

  2. 2

    They feared that their breasts might be too hard for Kṛṣṇa’s soft lotus feet. When grains of sand pricked His feet in the Vṛndāvana pasturing ground, they were pained and began to cry.

  3. 3

    The gopīs wanted to keep Kṛṣṇa at home always, and their minds were absorbed in Kṛṣṇa consciousness; such pure consciousness can arise only in Vṛndāvana. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu thus began to explain His own mind, saturated in the ecstasy of the gopīs.

Key points from the purport
  • Unless they were forced, they never liked to meditate on the lotus feet of the Lord.
  • Rather, they preferred to take the lotus feet of the Lord and place them on their breasts.
  • When those lotus feet were pricked by the grains of sand in the Vṛndāvana pasturing ground, the gopīs were pained and began to cry.

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 Madhya 13.136 quotesSB 10.82.48

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.82.48).

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

Public ecstasy with inward longing. The festival’s collective joy carries the profound Vraja mood of meeting and separation.

The mood of Madhya 13 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 13: The Ecstatic Dancing of the Lord at Ratha-yātrā

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

Lord Jagannātha took permission from the goddess of fortune and then started in the car for the Guṇḍicā temple. The road to the temple led along a broad, sandy beach, and on both sides of the road were residential quarters, houses and gardens.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 13
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. āhuḥthe gopīs said
  2. caand
  3. teYour
  4. nalina-nābhaO Lord, whose navel is just like a lotus flower
  5. pada-aravindamlotus feet
  6. yoga-īśvaraiḥby great mystic yogīs
  7. hṛdiwithin the heart
  8. vicintyamto be meditated upon
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Śaraṇāgati · Taking shelter

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

    In this verse: “shelter”, “lotus feet”

  • 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”, “vṛndāvana”

  • 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: “fallen”

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 the gopīs’ concern for Kṛṣṇa’s comfort deepen your understanding of devotion?

Practice

During one household task today, recall the prayer that the Lord’s lotus feet may awaken within your heart.

Live this todayThe Gopīs’ Pure Absorption in 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.

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