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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

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 2.79

লীলাশুক মর্ত্যজন,     তাঁর হয় ভাবোদ্গম,

ঈশ্বরে সে — কি ইহা বিস্ময় ।

তাহে মুখ্য-রসাশ্রয়,     হইয়াছেন মহাশয়,

তাতে হয় সর্বভাবোদয় ॥ ৭৯ ॥

līlāśuka — martya-jana, tāṅra haya bhāvodgama,

īśvare se — ki ihā vismaya

tāhe mukhya-rasāśraya, ha-iyāchena mahāśaya,

tāte haya sarva-bhāvodaya

Translation

Līlāśuka [Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura] was an ordinary human being, yet he developed many ecstatic symptoms in his body. What, then, is so astonishing about these symptoms’ being manifest in the body of the Supreme Personality of Godhead? In the ecstatic mood of conjugal love, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was on the highest platform; therefore, all the exuberant ecstasies were naturally visible in His body.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Ecstasy Is Natural in the Supreme Lord

  1. 1

    Līlāśuka is Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura Gosvāmī. Following Cintāmaṇi’s advice, he became renounced, and by the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa and the Vaiṣṇavas, he became a great devotee.

  2. 2

    On that elevated platform he wrote Kṛṣṇa-karṇāmṛta. Because he exhibited many ecstatic symptoms, people called him Līlāśuka.

  3. 3

    If such symptoms appeared in an ordinary human being, their appearance in the Supreme Personality of Godhead is not astonishing. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu stood on the highest platform of conjugal love, so these ecstasies were naturally visible in His body.

Key points from the purport
  • Thus he wrote a book named Śānti-śataka, and later, by the mercy of Lord Kṛṣṇa and the Vaiṣṇavas, he became a great devotee.
  • Thus he became famous as Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura Gosvāmī.
  • Since he exhibited so many ecstatic symptoms, people used to call him Līlāśuka.

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:

Over and above this are the notes of Svarūpa Dāmodara, memorized by Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī, who also helped in the compilation of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta. After the disappearance of Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, Raghunātha dāsa Gosvāmī went to Vṛndāvana.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 2
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. līlā-śukaBilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura
  2. martya-janaa person of this world
  3. tāṅraof him
  4. hayathere is
  5. bhāva-udgamamanifestation of different ecstasies
  6. īśvarein the Supreme Lord
  7. sethat
  8. kiwhat
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • 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”

  • Bhāva & rasa · The language of sacred feeling

    Transcendental devotional moods and relationships, discussed explicitly in Rāmānanda’s dialogue and the teachings on prema. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “conjugal”

  • 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.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does the example of Līlāśuka help explain Mahāprabhu’s ecstatic symptoms?

Practice

Write one sentence recalling the role of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s and the Vaiṣṇavas’ mercy in Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura Gosvāmī’s life.

Live this todayEcstasy Is Natural in the Supreme LordThis 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 2.79? Get an answer from the verses themselves.