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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 8.210Madhya 8.212

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 8.211

সখ্যঃ শ্ৰীরাধিকায়া ব্রজকুমুদবিধোর্হ্লাদিনী-নামশক্তেঃ

সারাংশ-প্রেমবল্ল্যাঃ কিসলয়দলপুষ্পাদিতুল্যাঃ স্বতুল্যাঃ ।

সিক্তায়াং কৃষ্ণলীলামৃতরসনিচয়ৈরুল্লসন্ত্যামমুষ্যাং

জাতোল্লাসাঃ স্বসেকাচ্ছতগুণমধিকং সন্তি যত্তন্ন চিত্রম্ ॥ ২১১ ॥

sakhyaḥ śrī-rādhikāyā vraja-kumuda-vidhor hlādinī-nāma-śakteḥ

sārāṁśa-prema-vallyāḥ kisalaya-dala-puṣpādi-tulyāḥ sva-tulyāḥ

iktāyāṁ kṛṣṇa-līlāmṛta-rasa-nicayair ullasantyām amuṣyāṁ

jātollāsāḥ sva-sekāc chata-guṇam adhikaṁ santi yat tan na citram

Translation

“ ‘All the gopīs, the personal friends of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, are equal to Her. Kṛṣṇa is pleasing to the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi, just as the moon is pleasing to the lotus flower. His pleasure-giving potency is known as āhlādinī, of which the active principle is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. She is compared to a creeper with newly grown flowers and leaves. When the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes is sprinkled on Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, all Her friends, the gopīs, immediately appreciate the pleasure a hundred times more than if they were sprinkled themselves. Actually this is not at all wonderful.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Shared Pleasure Through Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī

  1. 1

    The gopīs, Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s personal friends, are equal to Her. Kṛṣṇa pleases the inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi as the moon pleases the lotus flower.

  2. 2

    Kṛṣṇa’s pleasure-giving potency is called āhlādinī, and its active principle is Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. She is compared to a creeper with newly grown flowers and leaves.

  3. 3

    When the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes is sprinkled on Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī, Her friends appreciate the pleasure a hundred times more than if they were sprinkled themselves. The verse says this is not at all wonderful.

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:

This conjugal love attains its highest perfection in Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s love for Kṛṣṇa. He next described the position of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī and the transcendental mellows of love of God.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 8
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. sakhyaḥfriends like Lalitā and Viśākhā
  2. śrī-rādhikāyāḥof Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī
  3. vraja-kumudaof the lotuslike inhabitants of Vrajabhūmi
  4. vidhoḥof the moon (Kṛṣṇa)
  5. hlādinīpleasure-giving
  6. nāmaof the name
  7. śakteḥof the potency
  8. sāra-aṁśathe active principle
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • 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: “vrajabhūmi”, “gopīs”

  • 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”, “rādhārāṇī’s”

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 the gopīs’ greater pleasure through Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī reveal about their friendship with Her?

Practice

Review the meaning of āhlādinī given here, and write down Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī’s relationship to this potency.

Live this todayShared Pleasure Through Śrīmatī RādhārāṇīThis 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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