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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 8.278Madhya 8.280

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 8.279

রাধিকার ভাবকান্তি করি’ অঙ্গীকার ।

নিজরস আস্বাদিতে করিয়াছ অবতার ॥ ২৭৯ ॥

rādhikāra bhāva-kānti kari’ aṅgīkāra

nija-rasa āsvādite kariyācha avatāra

Translation

Rāmānanda Rāya continued, “My dear Lord, I can understand that You have assumed the ecstasy and bodily complexion of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. By accepting this, You are tasting Your own personal transcendental humor and have therefore appeared as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

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.

Tasting His Own Transcendental Humor

  1. 1

    Rāmānanda Rāya understands that the Lord has assumed the ecstasy of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.

  2. 2

    The Lord has also accepted Her bodily complexion.

  3. 3

    In this way, He tastes His own personal transcendental humor and has appeared as Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

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:

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 summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 8
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. rādhikāraof Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī
  2. bhāva-kāntiecstatic love and luster
  3. kari’making
  4. aṅgīkāraacceptance
  5. nija-rasaYour own transcendental mellow
  6. āsvāditeto taste
  7. kariyāchaYou have made
  8. avatāraincarnation
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: “rādhārāṇī”

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 Rāmānanda Rāya’s understanding reveal about Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s appearance?

Practice

Write down the two features of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī that the Lord has assumed.

Live this todayTasting His Own Transcendental HumorThis 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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