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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 21.128 Madhya 21.130

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 21.129

নাচে মকর-কুণ্ডল, নেত্র — লীলা-কমল,

বিলাসী রাজা সতত নাচায় ।

ভ্রূ — ধনু, নেত্র — বাণ, ধনুর্গুণ — দুই কাণ,

নারীমন-লক্ষ্য বিন্ধে তায় ॥ ১২৯ ॥

nāce makara-kuṇḍala, netra — līlā-kamala,

vilāsī rājā satata nācāya

bhrū — dhanu, netra — bāṇa, dhanur-guṇa — dui kāṇa,

nārī-mana-lakṣya vindhe tāya

Translation

“Kṛṣṇa’s face is the enjoyer king. That full-moon face makes His shark-shaped earrings and lotus eyes dance. His eyebrows are like bows, and His eyes are like arrows. His ears are fixed on the string of that bow, and when His eyes spread to His ears, He pierces the hearts of the gopīs.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa’s Glance Pierces the Gopīs’ Hearts

1
Kṛṣṇa’s full-moon face is the enjoyer king, making His shark-shaped earrings and lotus eyes dance.
2
His eyebrows are like bows, His eyes are like arrows, and His ears are fixed on the bowstring.
3
When His eyes spread to His ears, He pierces the hearts of the gopīs.

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.

nācedance
makara-kuṇḍalathe earrings shaped like sharks
netrathe eyes
līlāfor play
kamalalike lotus flowers
vilāsīthe enjoyer
rājāthe king
satata nācāyaalways causes to dance

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”

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

What does the image of Kṛṣṇa’s eyes as arrows convey about their effect on the gopīs?

Practice

Read the verse once more and identify its images of the moon, bow and arrows.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa’s Glance Pierces the Gopīs’ HeartsThis 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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