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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
  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 ›
Madhya-līlā · Chapter 23: Life’s Ultimate Goal — Love of Godhead
Madhya 23.28Madhya 23.30

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 23.29

ন প্রেমা শ্রবণাদিভক্তিরপি বা যোগোঽথবা বৈষ্ণবো

জ্ঞানং বা শুভকর্ম বা কিয়দহো সজ্জাতিরপ্যস্তি বা ।

হীনার্থাধিকসাধকে ত্বয়ি তথাপ্যচ্ছেদ্যমূলা সতী

হে গোপীজনবল্লভ ব্যথয়তে হা হা মদাশৈব মাম্ ॥ ২৯ ॥

na premā śravaṇādi-bhaktir api vā yogo ’tha vā vaiṣṇavo

jñānaṁ vā śubha-karma vā kiyad aho saj-jātir apy asti vā

hīnārthādhika-sādhake tvayi tathāpy acchedya-mūlā satī

he gopī-jana-vallabha vyathayate hā hā mad-āśaiva mām

Translation

“ ‘O my Lord, I do not have any love for You, nor am I qualified for discharging devotional service by chanting and hearing. Nor do I possess the mystic power of a Vaiṣṇava, knowledge or pious activities. Nor do I belong to a very high-caste family. On the whole, I do not possess anything. Still, O beloved of the gopīs, because You bestow Your mercy on the most fallen, I have an unbreakable hope that is constantly in my heart. That hope is always giving me pain.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Unbreakable Hope Despite Having No Qualifications

  1. 1

    The speaker feels no love for the Lord and no qualification for devotional service through chanting and hearing.

  2. 2

    The speaker claims neither mystic power, knowledge, pious activities nor birth in a very high-caste family.

  3. 3

    Because the beloved of the gopīs bestows mercy on the most fallen, unbreakable hope remains in the speaker’s heart. This constant hope also gives pain.

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

Further reading

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

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

He also describes the mellow derived from conjugal love, which is the supreme emotion. Conjugal love is divided into two categories — svakīya and parakīya.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 23
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. nanot
  2. premālove of Godhead
  3. śravaṇa-ādiconsisting of chanting, hearing and so on
  4. bhaktiḥdevotional service
  5. apialso
  6. vāor
  7. yogaḥthe power of mystic yoga
  8. atha vāor
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Prema · Love of Godhead

    The culminating devotional purpose that unites the narration: bestowed, cultivated, taught, celebrated, and tasted. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “love”

  • 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”

  • 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: “fallen”

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 prayer teach you about hoping for mercy when you feel unqualified?

Practice

Offer a short prayer acknowledging one limitation and expressing hope in the Lord’s mercy.

Live this todayUnbreakable Hope Despite Having No QualificationsThis 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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