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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 19: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī
Madhya 19.201Madhya 19.203

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 19.202

তস্যাঃ সুদুঃখভয় শোক-বিনষ্ট-বুদ্ধে-

র্হস্তাচ্ছ্লথদ্বলয়তো ব্যজনং পপাত ।

দেহশ্চ বিক্লবধিয়ঃ সহসৈব মুহ্যন্‌

রম্ভেব বাতবিহতা প্রবিকীর্য কেশান্ ॥ ২০২ ॥

tasyāḥ su-duḥkha-bhaya-śoka-vinaṣṭa-buddher

hastāc chlathad-valayato vyajanaṁ papāta

dehaś ca viklava-dhiyaḥ sahasaiva muhyan

rambheva vāta-vihatā pravikīrya keśān

Translation

“ ‘While Kṛṣṇa was joking with Rukmiṇī in Dvārakā, she was full of distress, fear and lamentation. She had also lost her intelligence. She dropped her hand bangles and the fan she was using to fan the Lord. Her hair became disarrayed, and she fainted and fell suddenly, appearing like a banana tree knocked down by high winds.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Rukmiṇī’s Misunderstanding Brings Overwhelming Distress

  1. 1

    To test Rukmiṇī’s sincerity, Kṛṣṇa joked with her, presenting Himself as poor, incapable and unfit to be her lover.

  2. 2

    Rukmiṇī took His words seriously and thought He wanted to leave her company. This misunderstanding filled her with distress, fear and lamentation.

  3. 3

    Her whole body was affected: her fan and bangles fell, her hair became disarrayed, and she fainted. She fell like a banana tree knocked down by high winds.

Key points from the purport
  • This verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.60.24) refers to Kṛṣṇa’s speaking to Rukmiṇī in His bedroom.
  • Not understanding that He was joking, Rukmiṇī took Him seriously and thought that He wanted to leave her company.
  • Her fan and bangles fell to the floor, and she also fell down like a banana tree knocked down by high winds.

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

Connected verses· 1

The purport of CC Madhya 19.202 quotesSB 10.60.24

This verse from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.60.24) refers to Kṛṣṇa’s speaking to Rukmiṇī in His bedroom.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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:

After this, a brāhmaṇa scholar named Raghupati Upādhyāya arrived and discussed Kṛṣṇa consciousness with the Lord. Kavirāja Gosvāmī then extensively describes the living condition of Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana at Vṛndāvana.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 19
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. tasyāḥof her
  2. su-duḥkha-bhayadue to great distress and fear
  3. śokaand lamentation
  4. vinaṣṭalost
  5. buddheḥwhose intelligence
  6. hastātfrom the hand
  7. ślathatbeing loose
  8. valayataḥbangles
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Vipralambha · Love in separation

    Separation that intensifies remembrance and longing; especially central to the confidential pastimes at Purī. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “lamentation”

  • 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: “lover”

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

How does Rukmiṇī’s response reveal the depth of her distress at the thought of Kṛṣṇa leaving?

Practice

Reread the purport and identify Kṛṣṇa’s purpose in joking and what Rukmiṇī understood instead.

Live this todayRukmiṇī’s Misunderstanding Brings Overwhelming DistressThis 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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