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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
  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 14: Performance of the Vṛndāvana Pastimes
Madhya 14.85Madhya 14.87

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 14.86

মেরু-মন্দর-পর্বত ডুবায় যথা তথা ।

এই দুই — গণ্ড-শৈল, ইহার কা কথা ॥ ৮৬ ॥

meru-mandara-parvata ḍubāya yathā tathā

ei dui — gaṇḍa-śaila, ihāra kā kathā

Translation

“A drop from the ocean of Your mercy can drown great mountains like Sumeru and Mandara. Since these two gentlemen are little hills by comparison, it is no wonder that they are being drowned in the ocean of Your mercy.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Mercy Can Drown Even Great Mountains

  1. 1

    A drop from the ocean of mercy can drown great mountains like Sumeru and Mandara.

  2. 2

    The two gentlemen are compared to little hills beside those mountains.

  3. 3

    Their being drowned in the ocean of mercy is therefore described as no wonder.

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

Further reading

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 summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 14
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. meru-mandaraSumeru and Mandara
  2. parvatabig mountains
  3. ḍubāyadrowns
  4. yathā tathāanywhere
  5. ei duithese two
  6. gaṇḍa-śailavery small hills
  7. ihāra kā kathāwhat to speak of these
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”

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 this comparison help you appreciate the greatness of mercy?

Practice

Read the mountain comparison aloud once and reflect on the power attributed to a single drop of mercy.

Live this todayMercy Can Drown Even Great MountainsThis 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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