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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 19: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī
Madhya 19.152Madhya 19.154

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 19.153

উপজিয়া বাড়ে লতা ‘ব্রহ্মাণ্ড’ ভেদি’ যায় ।

‘বিরজা’, ‘ব্রহ্মলোক’ ভেদি’ ‘পরব্যোম’ পায় ॥ ১৫৩ ॥

upajiyā bāḍe latā ‘brahmāṇḍa’ bhedi’ yāya

‘virajā’, ‘brahma-loka’ bhedi’ ‘para-vyoma’ pāya

Translation

“As one waters the bhakti-latā-bīja, the seed sprouts, and the creeper gradually grows to the point where it penetrates the walls of this universe and goes beyond the Virajā River, lying between the spiritual world and the material world. It attains brahma-loka, the Brahman effulgence, and penetrating through that stratum, it reaches the spiritual sky and the spiritual planet Goloka Vṛndāvana.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional Service Reaches Beyond the Material World

  1. 1

    Devotional service is meant only for the Supreme Personality of Godhead. It cannot be used for any material purpose.

  2. 2

    The bhakti creeper grows beyond the material universe and the Virajā River. Virajā is free from the influence of the three modes of material nature.

  3. 3

    The creeper finds no shelter in the material world or in the Brahman effulgence. It grows until it reaches Goloka Vṛndāvana in the spiritual sky.

Key points from the purport
  • A creeper generally takes shelter of a big tree, but the bhakti-latā, being the creeper of spiritual energy, cannot take shelter of any material planet, for there is no tree on any material planet that the bhakti creeper can utilize for shelter.
  • Devotional service is especially meant for the Supreme Personality of Godhead, and it is beyond this material range.
  • The bhakti-latā, however, has no shelter in the material world, nor has it shelter in Brahma-loka, although Brahma-loka is beyond the material world.

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

Empowerment and hope. The seed of bhakti is received, planted, and watered; intimate realization becomes transmissible.

The mood of Madhya 19 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 19: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī

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

During the ten days at Prayāga, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī was instructed by the Lord, who gave him the basic principles of the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu. The Lord then sent Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī to Vṛndāvana.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 19
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. upajiyābeing cultivated
  2. bāḍegrows
  3. latāthe creeper of devotional service
  4. brahmāṇḍathe whole universe
  5. bhedi’penetrating
  6. yāyagoes
  7. virajāthe river between the spiritual world and the material world
  8. brahma-lokathe Brahman effulgence
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Vraja-smaraṇa · Remembrance of Vṛndāvana

    The remembered sweetness of Vraja that colors Mahāprabhu’s pilgrimage, Ratha-yātrā, and later states of separation. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “vṛndāvana”

  • Śaraṇāgati · Taking shelter

    Turning toward Kṛṣṇa through shelter, surrender, dependence on guru, and unconditional devotional fidelity. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “shelter”

  • Sevā · Love translated into service

    Devotional service expressed through cleansing, caring, teaching, honoring others, and living as Kṛṣṇa’s servant. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “service”

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

Am I seeking to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead, or using devotion for a material purpose?

Practice

Before one devotional activity today, pause and set the intention to serve the Supreme Personality of Godhead rather than seek material gain.

Live this todayDevotional Service Reaches Beyond the Material WorldThis 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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