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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 21.44

মধুরৈশ্বর্য-মাধুর্য-কৃপাদি-ভাণ্ডার ।

যোগমায়া দাসী যাহাঁ রাসাদি লীলা-সার ॥ ৪৪ ॥

madhuraiśvarya-mādhurya-kṛpādi-bhāṇḍāra

yogamāyā dāsī yāhāṅ rāsādi līlā-sāra

Translation

“Vṛndāvana is the storehouse of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy and the sweet opulences of conjugal love. That is where the spiritual energy, working as a maidservant, exhibits the rāsa dance, the quintessence of all pastimes.

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.

Vṛndāvana Stores Kṛṣṇa’s Mercy and Sweet Love

  1. 1

    Vṛndāvana is the storehouse of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy and the sweet opulences of conjugal love.

  2. 2

    The spiritual energy works there as a maidservant.

  3. 3

    That spiritual energy exhibits the rāsa dance, the quintessence of all pastimes.

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 Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu fully describes Kṛṣṇaloka, the spiritual sky, the Causal Ocean and the material world, which consists of innumerable universes. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then describes Lord Brahmā’s interview with Kṛṣṇa at Dvārakā and the Lord’s curbing the pride of Brahmā.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 21
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. madhura-aiśvaryaof sweetness and opulence
  2. mādhuryaof conjugal love
  3. kṛpā-ādiand of mercy and so on
  4. bhāṇḍārastorehouse
  5. yoga-māyāthe spiritual energy
  6. dāsīmaidservant
  7. yāhāṅwhere
  8. rāsa-ādithe rāsa dance and other pastimes
  9. līlā-sārathe quintessence of all pastimes
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Bhāva & rasa · The language of sacred feeling

    Transcendental devotional moods and relationships, discussed explicitly in Rāmānanda’s dialogue and the teachings on prema. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “rāsa”, “conjugal”

  • 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: “vṛndāvana”

  • 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.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What stands out to you about the spiritual energy working as a maidservant?

Practice

Reread the translation and note its description of Vṛndāvana as a storehouse of Kṛṣṇa’s mercy.

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 todayVṛndāvana Stores Kṛṣṇa’s Mercy and Sweet LoveThis 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 21.44? Get an answer from the verses themselves.