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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 2: The Ecstatic Manifestations of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu

Madhya 2.23 Madhya 2.25

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 2.24

‘কৃষ্ণ — কৃপা-পারাবার, কভু করিবেন অঙ্গীকার’,

সখি, তোর এ ব্যর্থ বচন ।

জীবের জীবন চঞ্চল, যেন পদ্মপত্রের জল,

তত দিন জীবে কোন্ জন ॥ ২৪ ॥

‘kṛṣṇa — kṛpā-pārāvāra, kabhu karibena aṅgīkāra’

sakhi, tora e vyartha vacana

jīvera jīvana cañcala, yena padma-patrera jala,

tata dina jīve kon jana

Translation

“I say, ‘My dear friends, you are asking Me to be patient, saying that Kṛṣṇa is an ocean of mercy and that some time in the future He will accept Me. However, I must say that this will not console Me. A living entity’s life is very flickering. It is like water on the leaf of a lotus flower. Who will live long enough to expect Kṛṣṇa’s mercy?

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.

Flickering Life Makes Waiting Painful

1
Her friends ask Her to be patient, saying that Kṛṣṇa is an ocean of mercy and will accept Her sometime in the future.
2
She replies that this promise does not console Her. A living entity’s life is very flickering.
3
Life is compared to water on a lotus leaf. She asks who will live long enough to wait for Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.

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

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 summary Back to this verse in Madhya 2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

kṛṣṇaLord Kṛṣṇa
kṛpā-pārāvāraan ocean of mercy
kabhusometimes
karibenawill make
aṅgīkāraacceptance
sakhiMy dear friend
torayour
ethese

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

Kṛpā & transformation · Mercy changes a life
Transformative encounters with grace, from scholars and travelers to renunciants and householders. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “mercy”

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 image of water on a lotus leaf deepen your understanding of Her urgency?

Practice

Take a quiet minute today to reflect on life’s uncertainty and the longing for Kṛṣṇa’s mercy expressed here.

Live this todayFlickering Life Makes Waiting PainfulThis 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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