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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 24.206Madhya 24.208

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 24.207

গা গোপকৈরনুবনং নয়তোরুদার-

বেণুস্বনৈঃ কলপদৈস্তনুভৃৎসু সখ্যঃ ।

অস্পন্দনং গতিমতাং পুলকস্তরূণাং

নির্যোগপাশকৃতলক্ষণয়োর্বিচিত্রম্ ॥ ২০৭ ॥

gā gopakair anu-vanaṁ nayator udāra-

veṇu-svanaiḥ kala-padais tanu-bhṛtsu sakhyaḥ

aspandanaṁ gatimatāṁ pulakas tarūṇāṁ

niryoga-pāśa-kṛta-lakṣaṇayor vicitram

Translation

“ ‘My dear friend, Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma are passing through the forest leading Their cows with Their cowherd boyfriends. They both carry ropes with which, at the time of milking, They bind the rear legs of the cows. When They play on Their flutes, all moving living entities are stunned, and nonmoving living entities experience ecstatic jubilation by Their sweet music. All these things are certainly very wonderful.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Their Flutes Awaken Wonder Throughout the Forest

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma pass through the forest with Their cows and cowherd boyfriends. They carry ropes used to bind the cows’ rear legs at milking time.

  2. 2

    Their sweet flute music stuns moving living entities and brings ecstatic jubilation to nonmoving living entities.

  3. 3

    The gopīs become deeply attracted and praise the Lord’s activities. They describe how His flute playing enthuses the plants, birds, hills, water and everything.

Key points from the purport
  • As Kṛṣṇa wandered in the forest with Baladeva and the two of Them wonderfully played Their flutes, all the gopīs became very much attracted.
  • Thus they praised the Lord’s activities, describing how He was enthusing all the plants, birds, hills, water — everything.

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 24.207 quotesSB 10.21.19

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.21.19).

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:

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. gāḥthe cows
  2. gopakaiḥwith the cowherd boys
  3. anu-vanamto each forest
  4. nayatoḥleading
  5. udāravery liberal
  6. veṇu-svanaiḥby the vibrations of the flutes
  7. kala-padaiḥhaving sweet tones
  8. tanu-bhṛtsuamong the living entities
3

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: “cowherd”, “gopīs”

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 detail of the forest’s response to Kṛṣṇa and Balarāma most draws your attention?

Practice

Read the description of Their flute music once more, then spend a quiet moment reflecting on the wonder expressed by the gopīs.

Live this todayTheir Flutes Awaken Wonder Throughout the ForestThis 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 24.207? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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