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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

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 24.216 Madhya 24.218

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 24.217

যৎপাদসেবাভিরুচিস্তপস্বিনা-

মশেষজন্মোপচিতং মলং ধিয়ঃ ।

সদ্যঃ ক্ষিণোত্যন্বহমেধতী সতী

যথা পদাঙ্গুষ্ঠবিনিঃসৃতা সরিৎ ॥ ২১৭ ॥

yat-pāda-sevābhirucis tapasvinām

aśeṣa-janmopacitaṁ malaṁ dhiyaḥ

sadyaḥ kṣiṇoty anv-aham edhatī satī

yathā padāṅguṣṭha-viniḥsṛtā sarit

Translation

“ ‘The taste for loving service is like the water of the river Ganges, which flows from the feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa. Every day that taste diminishes the results of sinful activities acquired over a period of many births by those who perform austerities.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Loving Service Diminishes Sinful Reactions

1
The taste for loving service is compared to the water of the river Ganges, which flows from Lord Kṛṣṇa’s feet.
2
Every day, this taste diminishes the results of sinful activities accumulated over many births.
3
The verse describes this benefit for those who perform austerities, emphasizing the purifying effect of a taste for loving service.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of CC Madhya 24.217 quotesSB 4.21.31

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (4.21.31).

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

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 summary Back to this verse in Madhya 24

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

yat-pāda-sevā-abhiruciḥthe taste for serving the lotus feet of Lord Kṛṣṇa
tapasvināmof persons undergoing severe penances
aśeṣaunlimited
janma-upacitamcontracted from life after life
malamdirt
dhiyaḥof the intelligence
sadyaḥimmediately
kṣiṇotivanquishes

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

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: “service”

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 helps you develop a taste for loving service to Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Today, do one small act of service to Kṛṣṇa with attention to the loving intention behind it.

Live this todayLoving Service Diminishes Sinful ReactionsThis 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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