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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

1Say the verse. Read the transliteration aloud, slowly.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each word and its meaning.
3Read the translation. Ask: what is happening here, and who is it about?
4Read the purport slowly. Read it twice. Don't rush.
5See Lord Caitanya as Kṛṣṇa. Remember who is acting in the pastime.
6Take one thing into your day. Note one point and one practice.

Read the full guide: how to read Caitanya Caritamrta ›

Madhya-līlā · Chapter 14: Performance of the Vṛndāvana Pastimes

Madhya 14.147 Madhya 14.149

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 14.148

‘ধীরাধীরা’ বক্র-বাক্যে করে উপহাস ।

কভু স্তুতি, কভু নিন্দা, কভু বা উদাস ॥ ১৪৮ ॥

‘dhīrādhīrā’ vakra-vākye kare upahāsa

kabhu stuti, kabhu nindā, kabhu vā udāsa

Translation

“The heroine who is a combination of sobriety and restlessness always jokes with equivocal words. She sometimes praises her lover, sometimes blasphemes him and sometimes remains indifferent.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Sobriety and Restlessness Appear Together

1
This heroine combines sobriety and restlessness.
2
She always jokes with equivocal words—words that can carry more than one meaning.
3
Sometimes she praises her lover, sometimes blasphemes him, and sometimes remains indifferent.

How it feels

Intimacy and ecstatic play. Mercy to Pratāparudra and discussion of the gopīs reveal deep relational sweetness.

The mood of Madhya 14 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Madhya 14: Performance of the Vṛndāvana Pastimes

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

Near the Guṇḍicā temple is a place known as Āiṭoṭā. This place was fixed up for Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu to rest in.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in Madhya 14

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

dhīrā-adhīrāthe heroine who is a combination of sobriety and restlessness
vakra-vākye kare upahāsajokes with equivocal words
kabhu stutisometimes praise
kabhu nindāsometimes blasphemy
kabhu vā udāsasometimes indifference

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

Prema · Love of Godhead
The culminating devotional purpose that unites the narration: bestowed, cultivated, taught, celebrated, and tasted. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “lover”

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

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does this heroine’s changing response reveal both sobriety and restlessness?

Practice

Today, write down the three contrasting responses this heroine shows toward her lover.

Live this todaySobriety and Restlessness Appear TogetherThis 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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