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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

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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 20: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Sanātana Gosvāmī in the Science of the Absolute Truth
Madhya 20.179Madhya 20.181

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.180

উদ্‌গীর্ণাদ্ভুত-মাধুরী-পরিমলস্যাভীরলীলস্য মে

দ্বৈতং হন্ত সমীক্ষয়ন্‌ মুহুরসৌ চিত্রীয়তে চারণঃ ।

চেতঃ কেলি-কুতূহলোত্তরলিতং সত্যং সখে মামকং

যস্য প্রেক্ষ্য স্বরূপতাং ব্রজবধূসারূপ্যমন্বিচ্ছতি ॥ ১৮০ ॥

udgīrṇādbhuta-mādhurī-parimalasyābhīra-līlasya me

dvaitaṁ hanta samīkṣayan muhur asau citrīyate cāraṇaḥ

cetaḥ keli-kutūhalottaralitaṁ satyaṁ sakhe māmakaṁ

yasya prekṣya svarūpatāṁ vraja-vadhū-sārūpyam anvicchati

Translation

“ ‘My dear friend, this dramatic actor appears like a second form of My own self. Like a picture, He displays My pastimes as a cowherd boy overflowing with wonderfully attractive sweetness and fragrance, which are so dear to the damsels of Vraja. When I see such a display, My heart becomes greatly excited. I long for such pastimes and desire a form exactly like that of the damsels of Vraja.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Vāsudeva Longs for the Cowherd Pastimes

  1. 1

    Vāsudeva speaks these words in Dvārakā, in the Lalita-mādhava. He sees a dramatic actor who appears like a second form of His own self.

  2. 2

    The actor displays His cowherd pastimes like a picture, overflowing with wonderfully attractive sweetness and fragrance. These are very dear to the damsels of Vraja.

  3. 3

    Seeing this display greatly excites Vāsudeva’s heart. He longs for those pastimes and desires a form exactly like that of the damsels of Vraja.

How it feels

Humility and restored identity. A seeker relinquishes status, asks fundamental questions, and receives sambandha knowledge.

The mood of Madhya 20 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 20: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Sanātana Gosvāmī in the Science of the Absolute Truth

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

Thus the owner helped them cross the hilly tract and proceed toward Vārāṇasī. On the way, Sanātana Gosvāmī met his brother-in-law, Śrīkānta, at Hājipura, and Śrīkānta helped him after he had heard about all Sanātana’s troubles.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 20
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. udgīrṇaoverflowing
  2. adbhutawonderful
  3. mādhurīsweetness
  4. parimalasyawhose fragrance
  5. ābhīraof a cowherd boy
  6. līlasyawho has pastimes
  7. meMy
  8. dvaitamsecond form
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Vraja-smaraṇa · Remembrance of Vṛndāvana

    The remembered sweetness of Vraja that colors Mahāprabhu’s pilgrimage, Ratha-yātrā, and later states of separation. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “vraja”, “cowherd”

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

What touches you about Vāsudeva’s response to the display of His cowherd pastimes?

Practice

Reread Vāsudeva’s words and note one phrase that expresses His longing.

5

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

1 lecture given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Live this todayVāsudeva Longs for the Cowherd PastimesThis 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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