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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

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 ›

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 9.4

সেই সব তীর্থ স্পর্শি’ মহাতীর্থ কৈল ।

সেই ছলে সেই দেশের লোক নিস্তারিল ॥ ৪ ॥

sei saba tīrtha sparśi’ mahā-tīrtha kaila

sei chale sei deśera loka nistārila

Translation

On the plea of visiting all those holy places, the Lord converted many thousands of residents and thus delivered them. Simply by touching the holy places, He made them into great places of pilgrimage.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord purifies places of pilgrimage

  1. 1

    On the plea of visiting holy places, the Lord converted and delivered many thousands of residents.

  2. 2

    A tīrtha, or holy place, is a place where great saintly personalities visit or reside. Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s visit purified places that were already holy.

  3. 3

    Pilgrims leave sinful contamination at holy places, and great personalities counteract it by their visits. The purport compares this to an expert physician keeping a hospital sterilized.

Key points from the purport
  • Although the holy places were already places of pilgrimage, they were all purified by Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s visit.
  • Many people go to these holy places and leave their sinful activities there, thus becoming free from contamination.
  • Similarly, places of pilgrimage are always infected by the sins left by the sinners who go there, but when a personality like Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visits such a place, all contaminations vanish.

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:

After leaving Vidyānagara, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu visited such places of pilgrimage as Gautamī-gaṅgā, Mallikārjuna, Ahovala-nṛsiṁha, Siddhavaṭa, Skanda-kṣetra, Trimaṭha, Vṛddhakāśī, Bauddha-sthāna, Tirupati, Tirumala, Pānā-nṛsiṁha, Śiva-kāñcī, Viṣṇu-kāñcī, Trikāla-hasti, Vṛddhakola, Śiyālī-bhairavī, the Kāverī River and Kumbhakarṇa-kapāla. Finally the Lord went to Śrī Raṅga-kṣetra, where He converted a brāhmaṇa named Veṅkaṭa Bhaṭṭa, who, along with his family, took up devotional service to Kṛṣṇa.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 9
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. sei sabaall those
  2. tīrthaholy places
  3. sparśi’touching
  4. mahā-tīrthainto great places of pilgrimage
  5. kailamade them
  6. sei chaleunder that plea
  7. sei deśeraof those countries
  8. lokathe people
  9. nistārilaHe delivered
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Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Kṛpā & transformation · Mercy changes a life

    Transformative encounters with grace, from scholars and travelers to renunciants and householders. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “delivered”

  • Sādhu-saṅga · Love grows through association

    Spiritual association shapes the movement, empowers disciples, and reveals truths through loving conversations. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “saintly”

Concept links are an editorial study map; only the verse is the text itself.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does this verse deepen my appreciation for the presence of saintly personalities at holy places?

Practice

Write one sentence explaining how the expert physician illustrates the purifying presence of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu.

Live this todayThe Lord purifies places of pilgrimageThis 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 9.4? Get an answer from the verses themselves.