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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

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 24: The Sixty-One Explanations of the Ātmārāma Verse

Madhya 24.132 Madhya 24.134

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 24.133

অদ্বৈতবীথীপথিকৈরুপাস্যাঃ

স্বানন্দসিংহাসনলব্ধদীক্ষাঃ ।

শঠেন কেনাপি বয়ং হঠেন

দাসীকৃতা গোপবধূবিটেন ॥ ১৩৩ ॥

advaita-vīthī-pathikair upāsyāḥ

svānanda-siṁhāsana-labdha-dīkṣāḥ

śaṭhena kenāpi vayaṁ haṭhena

dāsī-kṛtā gopa-vadhū-viṭena

Translation

“ ‘Although I was worshiped by those on the path of monism and initiated into self-realization through the yoga system, I have nonetheless been forcibly turned into a maidservant by some cunning boy who is always joking with the gopīs.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

From Self-Realization to Willing Service

1
In this verse by Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura, the speaker had been worshiped by those on the path of monism.
2
The speaker had also been initiated into self-realization through the yoga system.
3
Nevertheless, a cunning boy who is always joking with the gopīs has forcibly turned the speaker into a maidservant.

Key points from the purport

This is a verse written by Bilvamaṅgala Ṭhākura.

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

Intellectual wonder humbled. Many explanations converge on the attractiveness of devotion; a hunter’s heart is transformed.

The mood of Madhya 24 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Madhya 24: The Sixty-One Explanations of the Ātmārāma Verse

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

He analyzed all the words and described each word with its different connotations. Adding the words ca and api, He described all the different meanings of the verse.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in Madhya 24

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

advaita-vīthīon the path of monism
pathikaiḥby the wanderers
upāsyāḥworshipable
sva-ānandaof self-realization
siṁha-āsanaon the throne
labdha-dīkṣāḥbeing initiated
śaṭhenaby a cheater
kena apisome

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

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”

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

What strikes you about the contrast between being worshiped and becoming a servant?

Practice

Read the verse slowly once more, paying attention to its movement from spiritual recognition to service.

Live this todayFrom Self-Realization to Willing ServiceThis 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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