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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 21: The Opulence and Sweetness of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa
Madhya 21.117Madhya 21.119

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 21.118

গোপীভাব-দরপণ,     নব নব ক্ষণে ক্ষণ,

তার আগে কৃষ্ণের মাধুর্য ।

দোঁহে করে হুড়াহুড়ি,     বাড়ে, মুখ নাহি মুড়ি,

নব নব দোঁহার প্রাচুর্য ॥ ১১৮ ॥

gopī-bhāva-darapaṇa, nava nava kṣaṇe kṣaṇa,

tāra āge kṛṣṇera mādhurya

doṅhe kare huḍāhuḍi, bāḍe, mukha nāhi muḍi,

nava nava doṅhāra prācurya

Translation

“Both the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa are complete. The gopīs’ ecstatic love is like a mirror that becomes newer and newer at every moment and reflects Kṛṣṇa’s bodily luster and sweetness. Thus competition increases. Since neither give up, their pastimes become newer and newer, and both sides constantly increase.

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.

Complete Love Becomes Ever New

  1. 1

    Both the gopīs and Kṛṣṇa are complete.

  2. 2

    The gopīs’ ecstatic love is like a mirror that becomes newer at every moment. It reflects Kṛṣṇa’s bodily luster and sweetness.

  3. 3

    Their loving competition increases because neither gives up. Their pastimes become ever newer, and both sides constantly increase.

How it feels

Awe becoming attraction. The Lord’s vast opulence is placed beside the intimate sweetness of Kṛṣṇa.

The mood of Madhya 21 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 21: The Opulence and Sweetness of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa

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

In this chapter the author of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta has presented some nice poems about the pastimes of Kṛṣṇa and Kṛṣṇa’s superexcellent beauty. Throughout the rest of the chapter, our intimate relationship ( sambandha ) with Kṛṣṇa is described.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 21
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. gopī-bhāva-darapaṇathe gopīs’ ecstasy is like a mirror
  2. nava nava kṣaṇe kṣaṇanewer and newer at every moment
  3. tāra āgein front of that
  4. kṛṣṇera mādhuryathe sweetness of Kṛṣṇa’s beauty
  5. doṅheboth
  6. karedo
  7. huḍāhuḍistruggling together
  8. bāḍeincreases
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: “gopīs”

  • 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: “ecstatic love”

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 does the ever-new mirror of the gopīs’ love help you appreciate?

Practice

Reread the verse and note one detail about how love and sweetness continually increase.

Live this todayComplete Love Becomes Ever NewThis 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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