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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 2: The Ecstatic Manifestations of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
Madhya 2.19Madhya 2.21

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 2.20

সখি হে, না বুঝিয়ে বিধির বিধান ।

সুখ লাগি’ কৈলুঁ প্রীত,     হৈল দুঃখ বিপরীত,

এবে যায়, না রহে পরাণ ॥ ২০ ॥ ধ্রু ॥

sakhi he, nā bujhiye vidhira vidhāna

sukha lāgi’ kailuṅ prīta, haila duḥkha viparīta,

ebe yāya, nā rahe parāṇa

Translation

[Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī continued lamenting about the consequences of loving Kṛṣṇa:] “My dear friend, I do not understand the regulative principles given by the creator. I loved Kṛṣṇa for happiness, but the result was just the opposite. I am now in an ocean of distress. It must be that now I am going to die, for My vital force no longer remains. This is My state of mind.

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.

Seeking Happiness, Finding an Ocean of Distress

  1. 1

    Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī tells Her friend that She cannot understand the regulative principles given by the creator.

  2. 2

    She loved Kṛṣṇa for happiness, but the result seems to Her to be just the opposite. She describes Herself as being in an ocean of distress.

  3. 3

    Her lament is so intense that She feels Her vital force no longer remains. She describes this as Her state of mind.

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:

Why he has done so is very difficult for an ordinary person to understand. The author expects that reading the pastimes of the Lord will gradually help a person awaken his dormant love of Kṛṣṇa.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 2
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. sakhi he(My dear) friend
  2. nā bujhiyeI do not understand
  3. vidhiraof the creator
  4. vidhānathe regulation
  5. sukha lāgi’for happiness
  6. kailuṅI did
  7. prītalove
  8. hailait became
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: “lamenting”, “lament”

  • 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: “loved”

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 the phrase “an ocean of distress” help you hear the depth of Her lament?

Practice

Read this lament slowly, giving particular attention to the contrast between hoped-for happiness and felt distress.

Live this todaySeeking Happiness, Finding an Ocean of 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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