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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 5: The Activities of Sākṣi-gopāla
Madhya 5.55Madhya 5.57

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 5.56

তবে সেই বিপ্রেরে পুছিল সর্বজন ।

‘কন্যা কেনে না দেহ, যদি দিয়াছ বচন ॥’ ৫৬ ॥

tabe sei viprere puchila sarva-jana

‘kanyā kene nā deha, yadi diyācha vacana’

Translation

All the people gathered there asked the elderly brāhmaṇa, “If you have already promised to give him your daughter in charity, why are you not fulfilling your promise? You have given your word of honor.”

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Honor the Word You Have Given

  1. 1

    The gathered people asked the elderly brāhmaṇa about the promise.

  2. 2

    They asked why he was not fulfilling it if he had already promised his daughter in charity.

  3. 3

    They reminded him that he had given his word of honor.

How it feels

Faith vindicated. The Deity bears witness; anxiety over a broken promise becomes astonishment and relief.

The mood of Madhya 5 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 5: The Activities of Sākṣi-gopāla

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

When the two brāhmaṇas returned to Vidyānagara, the younger brāhmaṇa raised the question of this marriage, but the elderly brāhmaṇa, due to obligations to his friends and wife, answered that he could not remember his promise. Because of this, the younger brāhmaṇa returned to Vṛndāvana and narrated the whole story to Gopālajī.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 5
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. tabethen
  2. seithat
  3. viprerebrāhmaṇa
  4. puchilaasked
  5. sarva-janaall the people
  6. kanyādaughter
  7. kenewhy
  8. nā dehayou do not give in charity
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Kīrtana community · A movement of shared hearts

    Devotional community as a living network of branches, service, festivals, care, and collective chanting. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “gathered”

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

Is there a promise you have made that still needs to be fulfilled?

Practice

Choose one promise you have made and take a concrete step toward fulfilling it today.

Live this todayHonor the Word You Have GivenThis 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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