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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

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 ›

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 2.72

স্তম্ভ, কম্প, প্রস্বেদ,     বৈবর্ণ্য, অশ্রু, স্বরভেদ,

দেহ হৈল পুলকে ব্যাপিত ।

হাসে, কান্দে, নাচে, গায়,     উঠি’ ইতি উতি ধায়,

ক্ষণে ভূমে পড়িয়া মূর্চ্ছিত ॥ ৭২ ॥

stambha, kampa, prasveda, vaivarṇya, aśru, svara-bheda,

deha haila pulake vyāpita

hāse, kānde, nāce, gāya, uṭhi’ iti uti dhāya,

kṣaṇe bhūme paḍiyā mūrcchita

Translation

There were different transformations of the body of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu: being stunned, trembling, perspiring, fading away of color, weeping, and choking of the voice. In this way His whole body was pervaded by transcendental joy. As a result, sometimes Caitanya Mahāprabhu would laugh, sometimes cry, sometimes dance and sometimes sing. Sometimes He would get up and run here and there, and sometimes fall on the ground and lose consciousness.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Transcendental Joy Transforms the Body

  1. 1

    Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s whole body was pervaded by transcendental joy. He sometimes laughed, cried, danced or sang, and sometimes fell unconscious.

  2. 2

    Stambha, being stunned, refers to the mind becoming transcendentally absorbed, with speech and bodily movement stopping. Such symptoms are visible in an advanced devotee.

  3. 3

    The purport explains trembling, perspiration, changes of color, tears, a choking voice and hair standing on end. These arise from differing combinations of emotions such as joy, fear, anger, astonishment and moroseness.

Key points from the purport
  • Kampa, trembling of the body, is mentioned in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu as a result of a special kind of fear, anger and joy.
  • When the body begins to perspire because of joy, fear and anger combined, this is called sveda.
  • When there is a combination of moroseness, astonishment, anger, joy and fear, there is a choking in the voice.

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:

At that time the author, Śrīla Kavirāja Gosvāmī, met Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, by whose mercy he also could memorize all the notes. In this way the author was able to complete this transcendental literature, Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 2
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. stambhabeing stunned
  2. kampatrembling
  3. prasvedaperspiration
  4. vaivarṇyafading away of the color
  5. aśrutears
  6. svara-bhedachoking of the voice
  7. dehabody
  8. hailawas
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does the purport’s explanation of transcendental absorption deepen your understanding of these bodily changes?

Practice

Choose one bodily transformation described here and reread its explanation in the purport.

Live this todayTranscendental Joy Transforms the BodyThis 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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