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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 8: Talks Between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya

Madhya 8.118 Madhya 8.120

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 8.119

‘কৃষ্ণের স্বরূপ’ কহ ‘রাধার স্বরূপ’ ।

‘রস’ কোন্ তত্ত্ব, ‘প্রেম’ — কোন্ তত্ত্বরূপ ॥ ১১৯ ॥

‘kṛṣṇera svarūpa’ kaha ‘rādhāra svarūpa’

‘rasa’ kon tattva, ‘prema’ — kon tattva-rūpa

Translation

“Kindly explain the transcendental features of Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. Also explain the truth of transcendental mellows and the transcendental form of love of Godhead.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Inquiring About Transcendental Love

1
The request is to explain the transcendental features of Kṛṣṇa and Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
2
It also asks for an explanation of the truth of transcendental mellows.
3
The transcendental form of love of Godhead is another subject the speaker wishes to understand.

How it feels

Deepening intimacy and revelation. Their exchange ascends from duty to pure love and the confidential moods of Vraja.

The mood of Madhya 8 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Madhya 8: Talks Between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya

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

He next described the position of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and the transcendental mellows of love of God. Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya then recited a verse of his own concerning the platform of ecstatic vision, technically called prema-vilāsa-vivarta.

Read the whole chapter summary Back to this verse in Madhya 8

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

kṛṣṇeraof Lord Kṛṣṇa
svarūpathe transcendental features
kahaspeak
rādhāraof Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī
svarūpathe transcendental features
rasamellows
konwhat
tattvathat truth

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

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: “love of godhead”
Rādhā-bhāva · The confidential inner purpose
The Lord’s desire to taste the love and perspective of Śrī Rādhā, illuminated by later ecstatic pastimes. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “rādhārāṇī”
Bhāva & rasa · The language of sacred feeling
Transcendental devotional moods and relationships, discussed explicitly in Rāmānanda’s dialogue and the teachings on prema. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “mellows”

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

Which of these subjects would you most like to understand more deeply?

Practice

List the three subjects requested in this verse, keeping its wording.

Live this todayInquiring About Transcendental LoveThis 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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