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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 24: The Sixty-One Explanations of the Ātmārāma Verse
Madhya 24.176Madhya 24.178

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 24.177

এতেঽলিনস্তব যশোঽখিল-লোকতীর্থং

গায়ন্ত আদিপুরুষানুপথং ভজন্তে ।

প্রায়ো অমী মুনিগণা ভবদীয়মুখ্যা

গূঢ়ং বনেঽপি ন জহত্যনঘাত্মদৈবম্ ॥ ১৭৭ ॥

ete ’linas tava yaśo ’khila-loka-tīrthaṁ

gāyanta ādi-puruṣānupathaṁ bhajante

prāyo amī muni-gaṇā bhavadīya-mukhyā

gūḍhaṁ vane ’pi na jahaty anaghātma-daivam

Translation

“ ‘O good fortune personified! O original Personality of Godhead, all these bees are chanting about Your transcendental fame, which will purify the entire universe. Indeed, they are following Your path in the forest and are worshiping You. Actually they are all saintly persons, but now they have taken the form of bees. Although You are playing like a human being, they could not forget that You are their worshipable Deity.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Remembering the Lord beneath His humanlike play

  1. 1

    As Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma entered the forest of Vṛndāvana, Kṛṣṇa offered prayers to please Balarāma.

  2. 2

    The bees are described as saintly persons who follow and worship their Lord. Their chanting of His transcendental fame can purify the entire universe.

  3. 3

    Although the Lord plays like a human being, these saintly persons do not forget that He is their worshipable Deity.

Key points from the purport
  • Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma were just on the verge of boyhood and were entering the forest of Vṛndāvana when Kṛṣṇa began to offer prayers to please Balarāma.

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

Connected verses· 1

The purport of CC Madhya 24.177 quotesSB 10.15.6

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.15.6).

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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

Further reading

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

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

Adding the words ca and api, He described all the different meanings of the verse. He then concluded that different classes of transcendentalists ( jñānīs, karmīs, yogīs ) utilize this verse according to their own interpretation, but if they would give up this process and surrender to Kṛṣṇa, as indicated by the verse itself, they would be able to comprehend the real meaning of the verse.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 24
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. eteall these
  2. alinaḥbees
  3. tavaYour
  4. yaśaḥreputation
  5. akhilaall
  6. loka-tīrthamauspicious for the planets
  7. gāyanteare singing
  8. ādi-puruṣaO original person
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Sādhu-saṅga · Love grows through association

    Spiritual association shapes the movement, empowers disciples, and reveals truths through loving conversations. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “saintly”

  • Nāma-saṅkīrtana · The holy name shared together

    Chanting the holy names as the yuga-dharma, the Lord’s public movement, and the opening prayer of Śikṣāṣṭaka. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “chanting”

  • Sevā · Love translated into service

    Devotional service expressed through cleansing, caring, teaching, honoring others, and living as Kṛṣṇa’s servant. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “offered”

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 can help me remember the Lord as worshipable when hearing about His humanlike play?

Practice

Read the bees’ prayer aloud once, attending to their remembrance and worship of the Lord.

Live this todayRemembering the Lord beneath His humanlike playThis 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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