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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 8.286 Madhya 8.288

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 8.287

গৌর অঙ্গ নহে মোর — রাধাঙ্গ-স্পর্শন ।

গোপেন্দ্রসুত বিনা তেঁহো না স্পর্শে অন্যজন ॥ ২৮৭ ॥

gaura aṅga nahe mora — rādhāṅga-sparśana

gopendra-suta vinā teṅho nā sparśe anya-jana

Translation

“Actually My body does not have a fair complexion. It only appears so because it has touched the body of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī. However, She does not touch anyone but the son of Nanda Mahārāja.

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.

His Fair Complexion Comes from Rādhārāṇī

1
Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu said that His body does not actually have a fair complexion.
2
His body appears fair because it has touched the body of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī.
3
Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī does not touch anyone but the son of Nanda Mahārāja.

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.

gaurafair
aṅgabody
nahenot
moraMy
rādhā-aṅgaof the body of Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī
sparśanathe touching
gopendra-sutathe son of Nanda Mahārāja
vināexcept

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”
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: “nanda”

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

What does the Lord’s explanation reveal about His relationship with Śrīmatī Rādhārāṇī?

Practice

Write one sentence summarizing the Lord’s explanation of His fair complexion.

Live this todayHis Fair Complexion Comes from 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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