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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 8: Talks Between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya
Madhya 8.203Madhya 8.206

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Texts Madhya 8.204-205

সখী বিনা এই লীলায় অন্যের নাহি গতি ।

সখীভাবে যে তাঁরে করে অনুগতি ॥ ২০৪ ॥

sakhī vinā ei līlāya anyera nāhi gati

sakhī-bhāve ye tāṅre kare anugati

Translation

“Without the help of the gopīs, one cannot enter into these pastimes. Only one who worships the Lord in the ecstasy of the gopīs, following in their footsteps, can engage in the service of Śrī Śrī Rādhā-Kṛṣṇa in the bushes of Vṛndāvana. Only then can one understand the conjugal love between Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa. There is no other procedure for understanding.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Follow the Gopīs in Conjugal Service

  1. 1

    Devotional service is the means for returning home, back to Godhead. Everyone has a different taste in the Lord’s service.

  2. 2

    Service in servitude, fraternity or parental love does not enable one to enter the Lord’s service in conjugal love.

  3. 3

    To attain such service, one must follow in the footsteps of the gopīs in the ecstasy of sakhī-bhāva. Only then can one understand the transcendental mellow of conjugal love.

Key points from the purport
  • One may be inclined to serve the Lord in servitude (dāsya-rasa), fraternity (sakhya-rasa) or parental love (vātsalya-rasa), but none of these can enable one to enter into the service of the Lord in conjugal love.
  • To attain such service, one has to follow in the footsteps of the gopīs in the ecstasy of sakhī-bhāva.
  • Then only can one understand the transcendental mellow of conjugal love.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

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:

Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya also explained that all stages of conjugal love can be attained through the mercy of the residents of Vṛndāvana, especially by the mercy of the gopīs. All these subject matters were thus vividly described.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 8
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. sakhī vināwithout the gopīs
  2. ei līlāyain these pastimes
  3. anyeraof others
  4. nāhithere is not
  5. gatientrance
  6. sakhī-bhāvein the mood of the gopīs
  7. yeanyone who
  8. tāṅreLord Kṛṣṇa
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • 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: “conjugal”, “mellow”, “servitude”

  • Vraja-smaraṇa · Remembrance of Vṛndāvana

    The remembered sweetness of Vraja that colors Mahāprabhu’s pilgrimage, Ratha-yātrā, and later states of separation. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “vṛndāvana”, “gopīs”

  • 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”

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 teaching show me about the need for guidance in approaching Rādhā and Kṛṣṇa’s conjugal love?

Practice

Reread the translation today, noting the need to follow the gopīs rather than approach these pastimes independently.

Live this todayFollow the Gopīs in Conjugal ServiceThis 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.

Ask Caitanya CaritamrtaHave a question about CC Madhya 8.204-205? Get an answer from the verses themselves.