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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
  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 16: The Lord’s Attempt to Go to Vṛndāvana
Madhya 16.262Madhya 16.265-266

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Texts Madhya 16.263-264

তাঁর দৈন্য দেখি’ শুনি’ পাষাণ বিদরে ।

আমি তুষ্ট হঞা তবে কহিলুঁ দোঁহারে ॥ ২৬৩ ॥

tāṅra dainya dekhi’ śuni’ pāṣāṇa vidare

āmi tuṣṭa hañā tabe kahiluṅ doṅhāre

Translation

“Indeed, the humility of these two brothers could even melt stone. Because I was very pleased with their behavior, I told them, ‘Although you are both very much exalted, you consider yourselves inferior, and because of this, Kṛṣṇa will very soon deliver you.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Humility attracts the Lord’s mercy

  1. 1

    The brothers’ humility could even melt stone. Pleased with their behavior, the Lord told them that Kṛṣṇa would very soon deliver them.

  2. 2

    Even one who is materially opulent, experienced, influential and educated attracts the attention of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or Lord Kṛṣṇa by remaining humble. Mahārāja Pratāparudra pleased the Lord by humbly sweeping the road for Lord Jagannātha’s chariot.

  3. 3

    Material power results from past good activities and is transient, so a devotee should never be proud of it. Remaining humble and meek makes devotees eligible to return home, back to Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • Materially one may be very opulent, experienced, influential and educated, but if one still thinks himself lower than straw in the street, one attracts the attention of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu or Lord Kṛṣṇa.
  • Because of this humble service, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very pleased with the King, and for that reason the Lord embraced him.
  • At any moment all one’s material opulence can be finished; therefore a devotee is never proud of such opulence.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

How it feels

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

Further reading

Madhya 16: The Lord’s Attempt to Go to Vṛndāvana

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

From there He went to Rāmakeli, where He saw Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana and accepted them as His chief disciples. Returning from Rāmakeli, He met Raghunātha dāsa and after giving him instructions sent him back home.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 16
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. tāṅra dainya dekhi’by seeing their humility
  2. śuni’or even hearing about it
  3. pāṣāṇastone
  4. vidarebecomes melted
  5. āmiI
  6. tuṣṭa hañābeing very pleased
  7. tabethen
  8. kahiluṅ doṅhāresaid to both of them
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Dainya & humility · Making room for grace

    The humility expressed by the author, devotees, transformed scholars, renunciants, and the Śikṣāṣṭaka. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “humility”, “humble”, “meek”

  • 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: “deliver”

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

Which ability or possession might tempt you toward pride, and how could you use it humbly?

Practice

Quietly sweep or clean a small shared area today as an act of humble service.

Live this todayHumility attracts the Lord’s mercyThis 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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