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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

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 21.138

কৃষ্ণাঙ্গ — লাবণ্যপূর,     মধুর হৈতে সুমধুর,

তাতে যেই মুখ সুধাকর ।

মধুর হৈতে সুমধুর,     তাহা হইতে সুমধুর,

তার যেই স্মিত জ্যোৎস্না-ভর ॥ ১৩৮ ॥

kṛṣṇāṅga — lāvaṇya-pūra, madhura haite sumadhura,

tāte yei mukha sudhākara

madhura haite sumadhura, tāhā ha-ite sumadhura,

tāra yei smita jyotsnā-bhara

Translation

“Kṛṣṇa’s body is a city of attractive features, and it is sweeter than sweet. His face, which is like the moon, is sweeter still. And the supremely sweet gentle smile on that moonlike face is like rays of moonshine.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa’s Smile Gives Ever-Growing Happiness

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa’s body is a city of attractive features, sweeter than sweet.

  2. 2

    His moonlike face is sweeter still, and His gentle smile is like rays of moonshine.

  3. 3

    The smile on Kṛṣṇa’s face generates greater and greater happiness for the gopīs.

Key points from the purport
  • The smile on Kṛṣṇa’s face, which is just like the smiling of the moon, generates greater and greater happiness for the gopīs.

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

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
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. kṛṣṇa-aṅgathe bodily features of Kṛṣṇa
  2. lāvaṇya-pūrathe city of attractive beauty
  3. madhurasweetness
  4. haitethan
  5. su-madhurastill more sweet
  6. tātein that body
  7. yeithat
  8. mukhaface
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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.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does this description help you appreciate about Kṛṣṇa’s smile?

Practice

Read the translation slowly and spend a moment remembering Kṛṣṇa’s gentle, moonlike smile.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa’s Smile Gives Ever-Growing HappinessThis 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 21.138? Get an answer from the verses themselves.