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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

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 ›

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 24.181

ধৃতিঃ স্যাৎ পূর্ণতা জ্ঞান-দুঃখাভাবোত্তমাপ্তিভিঃ ।

অপ্রাপ্তাতীত-নষ্টার্থানভিসংশোচনাদিকৃৎ ॥ ১৮১ ॥

dhṛtiḥ syāt pūrṇatā-jñāna-

duḥkhābhāvottamāptibhiḥ

aprāptātīta-naṣṭārthā-

nabhisaṁśocanādi-kṛt

Translation

“ ‘Dhṛti is the fullness felt due to the absence of misery and the attainment of knowledge of the Supreme Lord and pure love for Him. The lamentation that accrues from not obtaining a goal or from losing something already attained does not affect this completeness.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Devotional fullness remains untouched by loss

  1. 1

    Dhṛti is the fullness felt through the absence of misery, knowledge of the Supreme Lord, and pure love for Him.

  2. 2

    Not obtaining a desired goal does not disturb this completeness.

  3. 3

    Nor does losing something already attained affect it. This definition is given in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu.

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
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. dhṛtiḥendurance
  2. syātmay become
  3. pūrṇatāfullness
  4. jñānaknowledge of the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  5. duḥkha-abhāvathe absence of misery
  6. uttama-āptibhiḥby attainment of the highest platform of perfection
  7. aprāptanot obtained
  8. atītagone
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Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Vipralambha · Love in separation

    Separation that intensifies remembrance and longing; especially central to the confidential pastimes at Purī. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “lamentation”, “absence”

  • 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: “pure 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

How much does my sense of completeness depend on gaining or keeping something?

Practice

Name one disappointment, then reread the verse and reflect on the fullness found in knowledge and pure love of the Lord.

Live this todayDevotional fullness remains untouched by lossThis 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 24.181? Get an answer from the verses themselves.