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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 23.86Madhya 23.92

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Texts Madhya 23.87-91

অথ বৃন্দাবনেশ্বর্যাঃ কীর্ত্যন্তে প্রবরা গুণাঃ ।

মধুরেয়ং নব-বয়াশ্চলাপাঙ্গোজ্জ্বলস্মিতা ॥ ৮৭ ॥

atha vṛndāvaneśvaryāḥ

kīrtyante pravarā guṇāḥ

madhureyaṁ nava-vayāś

calāpāṅgojjvala-smitā

Translation

“ ‘Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s twenty-five chief transcendental qualities are: (1) She is very sweet. (2) She is always freshly youthful. (3) Her eyes are restless. (4) She smiles brightly. (5) She has beautiful, auspicious lines. (6) She makes Kṛṣṇa happy with Her bodily aroma. (7) She is very expert in singing. (8) Her speech is charming. (9) She is very expert in joking and speaking pleasantly. (10) She is very humble and meek. (11) She is always full of mercy. (12) She is cunning. (13) She is expert in executing Her duties. (14) She is shy. (15) She is always respectful. (16) She is always calm. (17) She is always grave. (18) She is expert in enjoying life. (19) She is situated at the topmost level of ecstatic love. (20) She is the reservoir of loving affairs in Gokula. (21) She is the most famous of submissive devotees. (22) She is very affectionate to elderly people. (23) She is very submissive to the love of Her friends. (24) She is the chief gopī. (25) She always keeps Kṛṣṇa under Her control. In short, She possesses unlimited transcendental qualities, just as Lord Kṛṣṇa does.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s Unlimited Transcendental Qualities

  1. 1

    Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is very sweet, always freshly youthful, and expert in singing. Her speech is charming, and She smiles brightly.

  2. 2

    She is very humble and meek, always full of mercy, and always respectful. She is affectionate to elderly people and very submissive to the love of Her friends.

  3. 3

    She is the chief gopī, situated at the topmost level of ecstatic love, and always keeps Kṛṣṇa under Her control. These twenty-five chief qualities are a brief account of Her unlimited transcendental qualities.

Key points from the purport
  • These verses are found in the Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi (Śrī-rādhā-prakaraṇa 11-15).

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

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. athanow
  2. vṛndāvana-īśvaryāḥof the Queen of Vṛndāvana (Śrī Rādhikā)
  3. kīrtyanteare glorified
  4. pravarāḥchief
  5. guṇāḥqualities
  6. madhurāsweet
  7. iyamthis one (Rādhikā)
  8. nava-vayāḥyouthful
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • 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: “humble”, “meek”

  • Rādhā-bhāva · The confidential inner purpose

    The Lord’s desire to taste the love and perspective of Śrī Rādhā, illuminated by later ecstatic pastimes. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “rādhārāṇī’s”, “rādhārāṇī”

  • 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: “ecstatic love”

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

Which of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s qualities especially draws your attention, and why?

Practice

Read the list slowly today and pause to remember one of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s qualities.

Live this todayŚrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s Unlimited Transcendental QualitiesThis 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 23.87-91? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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