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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
  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 8: Talks Between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya
Madhya 8.162Madhya 8.164

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 8.163

আনন্দচিন্ময়রস-প্রতিভাবিতাভি-

স্তাভির্য এব নিজরূপতয়া কলাভিঃ ।

গোলোক এব নিবসত্যখিলাত্মভূতো

গোবিন্দমাদিপুরুষং তমহং ভজামি ॥ ১৬৩ ॥

ānanda-cinmaya-rasa-pratibhāvitābhis

tābhir ya eva nija-rūpatayā kalābhiḥ

goloka eva nivasaty akhilātma-bhūto

govindam ādi-puruṣaṁ tam ahaṁ bhajāmi

Translation

“ ‘I worship Govinda, the primeval Lord, who resides in His own realm, Goloka, with Rādhā, who resembles His own spiritual figure and who embodies the ecstatic potency [hlādinī]. Their companions are Her confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form and who are imbued and permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Govinda Resides with Rādhā in Goloka

  1. 1

    Govinda is the primeval Lord, who resides in His own realm, Goloka.

  2. 2

    Rādhā resembles His own spiritual figure and embodies the ecstatic potency, hlādinī.

  3. 3

    Their companions are Rādhā’s confidantes, who embody extensions of Her bodily form. They are permeated with ever-blissful spiritual rasa.

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

Further reading

Madhya 8: Talks Between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya

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

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu questioned him on the object and process of worship and also asked him to recite verses from the Vedic literature. First of all, Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya enunciated the system of the varṇāśrama institution.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 8
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. ānandabliss
  2. citknowledge
  3. mayaconsisting of
  4. rasamellows
  5. pratievery second
  6. bhāvitābhiḥwho are engrossed with
  7. tābhiḥwith those
  8. yaḥwho
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • 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: “rādhā”

  • 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: “rasa”

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

What does this description help you appreciate about Govinda and His companions?

Practice

Read the translation slowly once, pausing over the words “I worship Govinda.”

Live this todayGovinda Resides with Rādhā in GolokaThis 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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