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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 17: The Lord Travels to Vṛndāvana
Madhya 17.164Madhya 17.166

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 17.165

‘আর্য, সরল, তুমি — বৃদ্ধ ব্রাহ্মণ ।

কাহাঁ হৈতে পাইলে তুমি এই প্রেমধন?’ ॥ ১৬৫ ॥

‘ārya, sarala, tumi — vṛddha brāhmaṇa

kāhāṅ haite pāile tumi ei prema-dhana?’

Translation

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said, “You are an elderly brāhmaṇa, you are sincere, and you are advanced in spiritual life. Wherefrom have you gotten this transcendental opulence of ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa?”

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.

Ecstatic Love for Kṛṣṇa Is Spiritual Wealth

  1. 1

    Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu recognized the elderly brāhmaṇa as sincere.

  2. 2

    He also recognized that the brāhmaṇa was advanced in spiritual life.

  3. 3

    The Lord called his ecstatic love for Kṛṣṇa a transcendental opulence and asked where he had received it.

How it feels

Wonder and contagious joy. Even forest animals chant; nature seems drawn into the saṅkīrtana movement.

The mood of Madhya 17 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 17: The Lord Travels to Vṛndāvana

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

Thereafter the Lord visited the twelve forests of Vṛndāvana and was filled with great ecstatic love. As He toured the Vṛndāvana forests, He heard the chirping of parrots and other birds.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 17
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. āryaadvanced in devotional service
  2. saralasimple
  3. tumiyou
  4. vṛddha brāhmaṇaelderly brāhmaṇa
  5. kāhāṅ haitefrom where
  6. pāile tumidid you obtain
  7. eithis
  8. prema-dhanatranscendental opulence of ecstatic love
3

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: “love for krsna”, “ecstatic love”

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

What does describing love for Kṛṣṇa as “transcendental opulence” suggest about true spiritual wealth?

Practice

Write one sentence reflecting on why love for Kṛṣṇa is a form of spiritual wealth.

Live this todayEcstatic Love for Kṛṣṇa Is Spiritual WealthThis 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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