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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 24.51Madhya 24.53

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 24.52

শ্রুত্বা গুণান্‌ ভুবনসুন্দর শৃণ্বতাং তে

নির্বিশ্য কর্ণবিবরৈর্হরতোঽঙ্গতাপম্‌ ।

রূপং দৃশাং দৃশিমতামখিলার্থলাভং

ত্বয্যচ্যুতাবিশতি চিত্তমপত্রপং মে ॥ ৫২ ॥

śrutvā guṇān bhuvana-sundara śṛṇvatāṁ te

nirviśya karṇa-vivarair harato ’ṅga-tāpam

rūpaṁ dṛśāṁ dṛśimatām akhilārtha-lābhaṁ

tvayy acyutāviśati cittam apatrapaṁ me

Translation

“ ‘O most beautiful Kṛṣṇa, I have heard about Your transcendental qualities from others, and therefore all my bodily miseries are relieved. If someone sees Your transcendental beauty, his eyes have attained everything profitable in life. O infallible one, I have become shameless after hearing of Your qualities, and I have become attracted to You.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Rukmiṇī chooses Kṛṣṇa through hearing

  1. 1

    Rukmiṇī heard about Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental qualities from different people. She says that hearing relieved all her bodily miseries and made her attracted to Him.

  2. 2

    She declares that anyone who sees Kṛṣṇa’s transcendental beauty has attained everything profitable for the eyes.

  3. 3

    After hearing about Kṛṣṇa, Rukmiṇī decided to accept Him as her husband. Although her marriage to Śiśupāla had been arranged, she sent Kṛṣṇa a letter through a brāhmaṇa inviting Him to kidnap her.

Key points from the purport
  • This verse (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.52.37) was written by Rukmiṇīdevī in a letter to Kṛṣṇa inviting Him to kidnap her.
  • Rukmiṇī had heard about Kṛṣṇa’s qualities from different people, and after she heard about them, she decided to accept Kṛṣṇa as her husband.
  • Everything had been arranged for her marriage to Śiśupāla; therefore she wrote a letter to Kṛṣṇa, which she sent through a brāhmaṇa, and invited Him to kidnap her.

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 24.52 quotesSB 10.52.37

This verse (Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 10.52.37) was written by Rukmiṇīdevī in a letter to Kṛṣṇa inviting Him to kidnap her.

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:

According to Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī’s request, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu explained the well-known Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam verse beginning ātmārāmāś ca munayaḥ. He explained this verse in sixty-one different ways.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 24
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. śrutvāhearing
  2. guṇānthe transcendental qualities
  3. bhuvana-sundaraO most beautiful one in the whole creation
  4. śṛṇvatāmof those hearing
  5. teYour
  6. nirviśyaentering
  7. karṇa-vivaraiḥby the holes of the ears
  8. harataḥ aṅga-tāpamdecreasing all the miserable conditions of the body
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does Rukmiṇī’s decision show you about the power of hearing about Kṛṣṇa?

Practice

Read Rukmiṇī’s words aloud and write down one effect that hearing about Kṛṣṇa had on her.

Live this todayRukmiṇī chooses Kṛṣṇa through hearingThis 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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