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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 13.141Madhya 13.143

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 13.142

দেহ-স্মৃতি নাহি যার,     সংসারকূপ কাহাঁ তার,

তাহা হৈতে না চাহে উদ্ধার ।

বিরহ-সমুদ্র-জলে,     কাম-তিমিঙ্গিলে গিলে,

গোপীগণে নেহ’ তার পার ॥ ১৪২ ॥

deha-smṛti nāhi yāra, saṁsāra-kūpa kāhāṅ tāra,

tāhā haite nā cāhe uddhāra

viraha-samudra-jale, kāma-timiṅgile gile,

gopī-gaṇe neha’ tāra pāra

Translation

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu continued, “The gopīs have fallen into the great ocean of separation and are being devoured by the timiṅgila fish of their ambition to serve You. The gopīs are to be delivered from the mouths of these timiṅgila fish, for they are pure devotees. Since they have no material conception of life, why should they aspire for liberation? The gopīs do not want that liberation desired by yogīs and jñānīs, for they are already liberated from the ocean of material existence.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Service Brings Liberation Without Separate Effort

  1. 1

    The gopīs are pure devotees without a material conception of life. Their suffering is an ocean of separation, intensified by their longing to serve Kṛṣṇa, not bondage requiring liberation.

  2. 2

    The living entity is eternally Kṛṣṇa’s servant, but the desire for material enjoyment obstructs spiritual progress. Repeating the same material activities is compared to chewing what has already been chewed.

  3. 3

    By taking to Kṛṣṇa consciousness and serving the Lord, one becomes liberated from material nature’s stringent laws. No separate effort for liberation is needed.

Key points from the purport
  • The conditioned souls use the duration of life between birth and death only to engage in the same hackneyed activities — eating, sleeping, mating and defending.
  • If one can give up his ambition to engage in hackneyed material life and take to Kṛṣṇa consciousness instead, he will be liberated from the stringent laws of material nature.
  • As Śrīla Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura therefore says, muktiḥ svayaṁ mukulitāñjali sevate’smān: “Liberation stands before me with folded hands, begging to serve me.”

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 13.142 quotesSB 7.5.30

This is also stated in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (7.5.30): adānta-gobhir viśatāṁ tamisraṁ punaḥ punaś carvita-carvaṇānām.

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:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu divided His saṅkīrtana party into seven divisions. With two mṛdaṅgas in each division, there were altogether fourteen mṛdaṅgas.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 13
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. deha-smṛtibodily concept of life
  2. nāhinot
  3. yāraone whose
  4. saṁsāra-kūpablind well of material life
  5. kāhāṅwhere is
  6. tārahis
  7. tāhā haitefrom that
  8. nādoes not
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Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Sevā · Love translated into service

    Devotional service expressed through cleansing, caring, teaching, honoring others, and living as Kṛṣṇa’s servant. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “serve”, “servant”, “serving”

  • 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: “separation”, “longing”

  • 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

Am I seeking repeated material enjoyment, or an opportunity to serve Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Set aside one unnecessary pursuit of material enjoyment today and use that time for a small service to Kṛṣṇa.

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Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

Quoted in 1 lecture. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 1 lecture

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayService Brings Liberation Without Separate EffortThis 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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