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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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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 14.155 Madhya 14.157

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 14.156

প্রেমময়-বপু কৃষ্ণ ভক্ত-প্রেমাধীন ।

শুদ্ধপ্রেমে, রসগুণে, গোপিকা — প্ৰবীণ ॥ ১৫৬ ॥

premamaya-vapu kṛṣṇa bhakta-premādhīna

śuddha-preme, rasa-guṇe, gopikā — pravīṇa

Translation

“Kṛṣṇa is full of ecstatic love and always subordinate to the love of His devotees. The gopīs are very much experienced in pure love and in the dealings of transcendental mellows.

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.

Kṛṣṇa Is Subordinate to His Devotees’ Love

1
Kṛṣṇa is full of ecstatic love.
2
He is always subordinate to the love of His devotees.
3
The gopīs are very much experienced in pure love and in the dealings of transcendental mellows.

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:

The Lord, in His ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa, immediately embraced the King and thus bestowed mercy upon him. When there was an offering of prasādam in the garden, Lord Caitanya also partook of it.

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

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

prema-maya-vapubody of love and ecstasy
kṛṣṇaLord Kṛṣṇa
bhakta-prema-adhīnaalways subordinate to the loving feelings of His devotees
śuddha-premein pure uncontaminated love
rasa-guṇeand in the qualities of transcendental mellows
gopikāthe gopīs
pravīṇavery much experienced

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: “ecstatic love”, “pure love”
Bhāva & rasa · The language of sacred feeling
Transcendental devotional moods and relationships, discussed explicitly in Rāmānanda’s dialogue and the teachings on prema. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “mellows”
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.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does Kṛṣṇa’s willingness to be subordinate to His devotees’ love shape your understanding of Him?

Practice

Pause for a moment today to reflect on the words “subordinate to the love of His devotees.”

Live this todayKṛṣṇa Is Subordinate to His Devotees’ LoveThis 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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