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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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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 9: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Travels to the Holy Places
Madhya 9.149Madhya 9.151

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 9.150

গোপীনাং পশুপেন্দ্রনন্দনজুষো ভাবস্য কস্তাং কৃতী

বিজ্ঞাতুং ক্ষমতে দুরূহপদবীসঞ্চারিণঃ প্রক্রিয়াম্ ।

আবিষ্কুর্বতি বৈষ্ণবীমপি তনুং তস্মিন্ ভুজৈর্জিষ্ণুভি-

র্যাসাং হন্ত চতুর্ভিরদ্ভুতরুচিং রাগোদয়ঃ কুঞ্চতি ॥ ১৫০ ॥

gopīnāṁ paśupendra-nandana-juṣo bhāvasya kas tāṁ kṛtī

vijñātuṁ kṣamate durūha-padavī-sañcāriṇaḥ prakriyām

āviṣkurvati vaiṣṇavīm api tanuṁ tasmin bhujair jiṣṇubhir

yāsāṁ hanta caturbhir adbhuta-ruciṁ rāgodayaḥ kuñcati

Translation

“ ‘Once Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa playfully manifested Himself as Nārāyaṇa, with four victorious hands and a very beautiful form. When the gopīs saw this exalted form, however, their ecstatic feelings were crippled. A learned scholar, therefore, cannot understand the gopīs’ ecstatic feelings, which are firmly fixed upon the original form of Lord Kṛṣṇa as the son of Nanda Mahārāja. The wonderful feelings of the gopīs in ecstatic parama-rasa with Kṛṣṇa constitute the greatest mystery in spiritual life.’”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Mystery of the Gopīs’ Love

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa playfully manifested the very beautiful form of Nārāyaṇa with four victorious hands. Yet seeing that form crippled the gopīs’ ecstatic feelings.

  2. 2

    Their feelings are firmly fixed upon the original form of Kṛṣṇa as the son of Nanda Mahārāja. Even a learned scholar cannot understand this ecstatic love.

  3. 3

    Their ecstatic parama-rasa with Kṛṣṇa constitutes the greatest mystery in spiritual life. The purport identifies this as a verse spoken by Nārada Muni in Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī’s drama Lalita-mādhava-nāṭaka.

Key points from the purport
  • This is a verse spoken by Nārada Muni in the Lalita-mādhava-nāṭaka (6.14), a drama written by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.

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

Wonder and inclusion. Meetings across sacred places display the broad reach of devotional mercy.

The mood of Madhya 9 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 9: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Travels to the Holy Places

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

He also visited Rāmeśvara, where He collected some papers connected with Sītādevī, whose illusory form had been kidnapped by Rāvaṇa. The Lord next visited the places known as Pāṇḍya-deśa, the Tāmraparṇī River, Naya-tripati, Ciyaḍatalā, Tila-kāñcī, Gajendra-mokṣaṇa, Pānāgaḍi, Cāmtāpura, Śrī Vaikuṇṭha, Malaya-parvata and Kanyā-kumārī.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 9
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. gopīnāmof the gopīs
  2. paśupa-indra-nandana-juṣaḥof the service of the son of Vraja’s King, Mahārāja Nanda
  3. bhāvasyaecstatic
  4. kaḥwhat
  5. tāmthat
  6. kṛtīlearned man
  7. vijñātumto understand
  8. kṣamateis able
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: “gopīs”, “nanda”, “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: “ecstatic 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

How does this verse invite humility about understanding the gopīs’ love?

Practice

Pause over the words “firmly fixed upon the original form of Lord Kṛṣṇa” and reflect on their meaning.

Live this todayThe Mystery of the Gopīs’ LoveThis 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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