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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 23.37 Madhya 23.39

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 23.38

কৃষ্ণে ‘রতির’ চিহ্ন এই কৈলুঁ বিবরণ ।

‘কৃষ্ণপ্রেমের’ চিহ্ন এবে শুন সনাতন ॥ ৩৮ ॥

kṛṣṇe ‘ratira’ cihna ei kailuṅ vivaraṇa

‘kṛṣṇa-premera’ cihna ebe śuna sanātana

Translation

“These are the symptoms of a person who has developed attraction [bhāva] for Kṛṣṇa. Now let Me describe the symptoms of a person who is actually elevated to love of Kṛṣṇa. O Sanātana, please hear this from 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.

From Attraction to Love of Kṛṣṇa

1
The symptoms already described belong to someone who has developed attraction, or bhāva, for Kṛṣṇa.
2
The teaching now turns to the symptoms of someone actually elevated to love of Kṛṣṇa.
3
Sanātana is asked to hear this description.

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:

In this chapter Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu describes the symptoms of emotion and love and the awakening of one’s original loving relationship with the Lord, as well as the characteristics of a devotee who has actually attained that stage. He then describes the gradual increase of love of God up to the point of mahābhāva.

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

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

kṛṣṇefor Kṛṣṇa
ratiraof attraction
cihnathe symptoms
eiall these
kailuṅ vivaraṇaI have described
kṛṣṇa-premeraof love for Lord Kṛṣṇa
cihnathe symptoms
ebenow
śuna sanātanaplease hear, Sanātana

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 of krsna”
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: “bhāva”

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

How can you give careful attention to the distinction between attraction and love of Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Read the translation twice, noting the shift from bhāva to love of Kṛṣṇa.

Live this todayFrom Attraction to Love of KṛṣṇaThis 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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