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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 17: The Lord Travels to Vṛndāvana

Madhya 17.172 Madhya 17.174

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 17.173

কৃষ্ণপ্রেমা তাঁহা, যাঁহা তাঁহার ‘সম্বন্ধ’ ।

তাহাঁ বিনা এই প্রেমার কাহাঁ নাহি গন্ধ ॥ ১৭৩ ॥

kṛṣṇa-premā tāṅhā, yāṅhā tāṅhāra ‘sambandha’

tāhāṅ vinā ei premāra kāhāṅ nāhi gandha

Translation

“This kind of ecstatic love can be experienced only when one has a relationship with Mādhavendra Purī. Without him, even a scent of such transcendental ecstatic love is impossible.”

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.

Ecstatic Love Through Mādhavendra Purī

1
The brāhmaṇa said that this kind of ecstatic love requires a relationship with Mādhavendra Purī.
2
Without him, even a scent of such transcendental ecstatic love is impossible.
3
His words strongly emphasize the importance of that relationship.

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

Madhya 17: The Lord Travels to Vṛndāvana

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

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu next passed through Prayāga and Mathurā and then took His lunch at the home of a Sānoḍiyā brāhmaṇa, a disciple of Mādhavendra Purī. He bestowed His blessings upon the brāhmaṇa by accepting lunch at his place.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in Madhya 17

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

kṛṣṇa-premālove of Kṛṣṇa
tāṅhāthere
yāṅhāwhere
tāṅhārahis
sambandharelationship
tāhāṅ vināwithout him
ei premāraof this ecstatic love
kāhāṅ nāhi gandhathere is no possibility of even a scent

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”
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: “relationship”

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 the phrase “even a scent” deepen my understanding of this relationship’s importance?

Practice

Pause today to reflect on the brāhmaṇa’s statement about receiving ecstatic love through a relationship with Mādhavendra Purī.

Live this todayEcstatic Love Through Mādhavendra PurīThis 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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