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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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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 23.30Madhya 23.32

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 23.31

ত্বচ্ছৈশবং ত্রিভুবনাদ্ভুতমিত্যবেহি

মচ্চাপলঞ্চ তব বা মম বাধিগম্যম্ ।

তৎ কিং করোমি বিরলং মুরলীবিলাসি

মুগ্ধং মুখাম্বুজমুদীক্ষিতুমীক্ষণাভ্যাম্ ॥ ৩১ ॥

tvac-chaiśavaṁ tri-bhuvanādbhutam ity avehi

mac-cāpalaṁ ca tava vā mama vādhigamyam

tat kiṁ karomi viralaṁ muralī-vilāsi

mugdhaṁ mukhāmbujam udīkṣitum īkṣaṇābhyām

Translation

“ ‘O Kṛṣṇa, O flute-player, the sweetness of Your early age is wonderful within these three worlds. You know My unsteadiness, and I know Yours. No one else knows about this. I want to see Your beautiful, attractive face somewhere in a solitary place, but how can this be accomplished?’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Longing to See Kṛṣṇa’s Beautiful Face

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa is addressed as the flute-player whose early-age sweetness is wonderful within the three worlds.

  2. 2

    The speaker says that Kṛṣṇa knows the speaker’s unsteadiness, and the speaker knows His. No one else knows about this.

  3. 3

    The speaker longs to see Kṛṣṇa’s beautiful, attractive face in a solitary place and asks how this can be accomplished.

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:

There is also a description of the sixty-four transcendental qualities of Kṛṣṇa and the twenty-five transcendental qualities of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then describes those candidates who are eligible to taste the mellows of devotional service.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 23
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. tvatYour
  2. śaiśavamearly age
  3. tri-bhuvanawithin the three worlds
  4. adbhutamwonderful
  5. itithus
  6. avehiknow
  7. mat-cāpalamMy unsteadiness
  8. caand
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What draws your attention in this longing to see Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Read this prayer slowly today, pausing over its description of Kṛṣṇa’s beautiful, attractive face.

Live this todayLonging to See Kṛṣṇa’s Beautiful FaceThis 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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