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Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.
Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 16.181
“অধম যবনকুলে কেন জন্ম হৈল ।
বিধি মোরে হিন্দুকুলে কেন না জন্মাইল ॥ ১৮১ ॥
“adhama yavana-kule kena janma haila
vidhi more hindu-kule kena nā janmāila
The governor then submissively asked, “Why was I born in a Muslim family? This is considered a low birth. Why didn’t supreme Providence grant me a birth in a Hindu family?
Read this verse on Vedabase.ioThis verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.
Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.
The governor addressed Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu submissively.
He questioned why he had been born in a Muslim family, describing that birth as considered low.
He asked why supreme Providence had not granted him birth in a Hindu family. These questions express the governor’s own regret.
Yearning and deferral. Attempts, delays, meetings, and farewells heighten the desire to reach Vraja.
The mood of Madhya 16 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas
From Śrīla Prabhupāda's chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:
When He crossed the river Citrotpalā, Rāmānanda Rāya, Mardarāja and Haricandana went with Him. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu requested Gadādhara Paṇḍita to return to Nīlācala, Jagannātha Purī, but he did not abide by this order.Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 16
Learn the words of the verse.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What can I learn from the governor’s submissive manner when expressing my own concerns?
Express one personal concern in a brief, humble prayer to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.
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