1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by līlā and chapter

Madhya-līlā · 25 chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425
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 2: The Ecstatic Manifestations of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
Madhya 2.17Madhya 2.19

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 2.18

প্রেমচ্ছেদরুজোঽবগচ্ছতি হরির্নায়ং ন চ প্রেম বা

স্থানাস্থানমবৈতি নাপি মদনো জানাতি নো দুর্বলাঃ ।

অন্যো বেদ ন চান্যদুঃখমখিলং নো জীবনং বাশ্রবং

দ্বিত্রাণ্যেব দিনানি যৌবনমিদং হাহা বিধে কা গতিঃ ॥ ১৮ ॥

prema-ccheda-rujo ’vagacchati harir nāyaṁ na ca prema vā

sthānāsthānam avaiti nāpi madano jānāti no durbalāḥ

anyo veda na cānya-duḥkham akhilaṁ no jīvanaṁ vāśravaṁ

dvi-trāṇy eva dināni yauvanam idaṁ hā-hā vidhe kā gatiḥ

Translation

[Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī used to lament:] “ ‘Our Kṛṣṇa does not realize what We have suffered from injuries inflicted in the course of loving affairs. We are actually misused by love because love does not know where to strike and where not to strike. Even Cupid does not know of Our very much weakened condition. What should I tell anyone? No one can understand another’s difficulties. Our life is actually not under Our control, for youth will remain for two or three days and soon be finished. In this condition, O creator, what will be Our destination?’”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Love’s Pain and Life’s Uncertainty

  1. 1

    Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī laments that Kṛṣṇa does not realize the injuries suffered in loving affairs. Love does not know where to strike and where not to strike.

  2. 2

    Even Cupid does not know Their weakened condition. She asks what She can tell anyone, since no one can understand another’s difficulties.

  3. 3

    She laments that life is not under Their control and youth will soon be finished. This lament comes from Rāmānanda Rāya’s Jagannātha-vallabha-nāṭaka.

Key points from the purport
  • This verse is from the Jagannātha-vallabha-nāṭaka (3.9) of Rāmānanda Rāya.

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

Overwhelming divine separation. A preview of the last years reveals the Lord’s intense separation from Kṛṣṇa.

The mood of Madhya 2 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 2: The Ecstatic Manifestations of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

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

The author expects that reading the pastimes of the Lord will gradually help a person awaken his dormant love of Kṛṣṇa. Actually this Caitanya-caritāmṛta was compiled by the author during very old age.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 2
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. prema-cheda-rujaḥthe sufferings of a broken loving relationship
  2. avagacchatiknows
  3. hariḥthe Supreme Lord
  4. nanot
  5. ayamthis
  6. na canor
  7. premalove
  8. vānor
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: “lament”, “laments”

  • Rādhā-bhāva · The confidential inner purpose

    The Lord’s desire to taste the love and perspective of Śrī Rādhā, illuminated by later ecstatic pastimes. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “rādhārāṇī”

  • 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”

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 might remembering that another’s difficulties are hard to understand change the way you listen?

Practice

Listen to someone today without assuming you already understand their difficulties.

Live this todayLove’s Pain and Life’s UncertaintyThis 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.

Ask Caitanya CaritamrtaHave a question about CC Madhya 2.18? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 9 · 2 minAsk Caitanya CaritamrtaBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the book's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnLīlās & chapters