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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

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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 23: Life’s Ultimate Goal — Love of Godhead

Madhya 23.110 Madhya 23.113

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Texts Madhya 23.111-112

সমঃ শত্রৌ চ মিত্রে চ তথা মানপমানায়োঃ ।

শীতোষ্ণসুখদুঃখেষু সমঃ সঙ্গবিবর্জিতঃ ॥ ১১১ ॥

samaḥ śatrau ca mitre ca

tathā mānāpamānayoḥ

śītoṣṇa-sukha-duḥkheṣu

samaḥ saṅga-vivarjitaḥ

Translation

“ ‘One who is equal to friends and enemies, who is equipoised in honor and dishonor, heat and cold, happiness and distress, fame and infamy, who is always free from attachment to material things and always grave and satisfied in all circumstances, who doesn’t care for any residence, and who is always fixed in devotional service — such a person is very dear to Me.

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.

Steady Devotion in Every Circumstance

1
A devotee is equal to friends and enemies and equipoised in honor and dishonor, happiness and distress.
2
Such a person is free from attachment to material things, always grave, and satisfied in all circumstances.
3
One who does not care for any residence and remains fixed in devotional service is very dear to the Lord.

How it feels

Theological emotional crescendo. Bhāva, prema, the devotional rasas, and mahābhāva are systematically expounded.

The mood of Madhya 23 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Madhya 23: Life’s Ultimate Goal — Love of Godhead

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

The Lord also informs Sanātana Gosvāmī about all the confidential paraphernalia of devotional service. He gives a description of Goloka Vṛndāvana, where the Lord is engaged in His eternal pastimes described in the Hari-vaṁśa.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in Madhya 23

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

samaḥequal
śatrauto the enemy
caalso
mitreto the friend
caand
tathāsimilarly
māna-apamānayoḥin honor and dishonor
śītain winter

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

Sevā · Love translated into service
Devotional service expressed through cleansing, caring, teaching, honoring others, and living as Kṛṣṇa’s servant. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “service”

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 change in circumstances most challenges my steadiness in devotional service?

Practice

When a small discomfort arises today, pause and continue your devotional service without letting it determine your mood.

Live this todaySteady Devotion in Every CircumstanceThis 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 23.111-112? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

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