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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
  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 23.92Madhya 23.94

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 23.93

এইমত দাস্যে দাস, সখ্যে সখাগণ ।

বাৎসল্যে মাতা পিতা আশ্রয়ালম্বন ॥ ৯৩ ॥

ei-mata dāsye dāsa, sakhye sakhā-gaṇa

vātsalye mātā pitā āśrayālambana

Translation

“Just as Lord Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī are the object and shelter of the mellow of conjugal love, respectively, so in the mellow of servitorship, Kṛṣṇa, the son of Mahārāja Nanda, is the object, and servants like Citraka, Raktaka and Patraka are the shelter. Similarly, in the transcendental mellow of friendship, Lord Kṛṣṇa is the object, and friends like Śrīdāmā, Sudāmā and Subala are the shelter. In the transcendental mellow of parental affection, Kṛṣṇa is the object, and mother Yaśodā and Mahārāja Nanda are the shelter.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa and the Shelters of Devotional Love

  1. 1

    In conjugal love, Lord Kṛṣṇa is the object and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī is the shelter. In servitorship, Kṛṣṇa is the object, and servants like Citraka, Raktaka and Patraka are the shelter.

  2. 2

    In transcendental friendship, Lord Kṛṣṇa is the object. Friends like Śrīdāmā, Sudāmā and Subala are the shelter.

  3. 3

    In parental affection, Kṛṣṇa is the object. Mother Yaśodā and Mahārāja Nanda are the shelter.

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. ei-matain this way
  2. dāsyein the transcendental mellow of servitude
  3. dāsaservants
  4. sakhyein the transcendental mellow of friendship
  5. sakhā-gaṇathe friends
  6. vātsalyein the transcendental mellow of parental affection
  7. mātā pitāmother and father
  8. āśraya-ālambanathe support or shelter of love as the abode or dwelling place of love
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • 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: “mellow”, “parental”, “conjugal”

  • 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: “nanda”, “yaśodā”

  • 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”

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 remains the same across these different loving relationships?

Practice

Make a small list of the four relationships named here, noting Kṛṣṇa as the object and the devotees who are their shelter.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa and the Shelters of Devotional LoveThis 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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