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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 21: The Opulence and Sweetness of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa

Madhya 21.120 Madhya 21.122

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 21.121

শ্রী, লজ্জা, দয়া, কীর্তি, ধৈর্য, বৈশারদী মতি,

এই সব কৃষ্ণে প্রতিষ্ঠিত ।

সুশীল, মৃদু, বদান্য, কৃষ্ণ-সম নাহি অন্য,

কৃষ্ণ করে জগতের হিত ॥ ১২১ ॥

śrī, lajjā, dayā, kīrti, dhairya, vaiśāradī mati,

ei saba kṛṣṇe pratiṣṭhita

suśīla, mṛdu, vadānya, kṛṣṇa-sama nāhi anya,

kṛṣṇa kare jagatera hita

Translation

“Beauty, humility, mercy, merit, patience and expert intelligence are all manifested in Kṛṣṇa. But besides these, Kṛṣṇa has other qualities like good behavior, mildness and magnanimity. He also performs welfare activities for the whole world. All these qualities are not visible in expansions like Nārāyaṇa.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa’s Qualities Benefit the Whole World

1
Beauty, humility, mercy, merit, patience and expert intelligence are brilliant qualities manifested in Kṛṣṇa.
2
When these qualities appear in Nārāyaṇa, they are understood to have been bestowed upon Him by Kṛṣṇa.
3
The purport states that good behavior, mildness and magnanimity are found only in Kṛṣṇa. Only Kṛṣṇa performs welfare activities for the whole world.

Key points from the purport

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura mentions that the qualities of beauty, humility, mercy, merit, patience and expert intelligence are brilliant qualities, and when they are exhibited in the person of Nārāyaṇa, one should know that they are bestowed upon Nārāyaṇa by Kṛṣṇa.
Good behavior, mildness and magnanimity are found only in Kṛṣṇa.
Only Kṛṣṇa performs welfare activities for the whole world.

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

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

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 summary Back to this verse in Madhya 21

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

śrībeauty
lajjāhumility
dayāmercy
kīrtimerit
dhairyapatience
vaiśāradīvery expert
matiintelligence
ei sabaall these

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

Audārya · Love that moves outward
The freely offered gift of bhakti and prema, especially through nāma-saṅkīrtana and Mahāprabhu’s compassionate dealings. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “magnanimity”
Dainya & humility · Making room for grace
The humility expressed by the author, devotees, transformed scholars, renunciants, and the Śikṣāṣṭaka. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “humility”
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

Which of Kṛṣṇa’s qualities listed here most draws your appreciation today?

Practice

Choose one quality named in this verse and write a sentence appreciating it in Kṛṣṇa.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa’s Qualities Benefit the Whole WorldThis 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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