The Latest

  • eka eva khago mānī cirañjīvatu cātakam |
    mriyate vā pipāsārto yācate vā purandaram ||
    (Pañcatantra)

    “Long live the cātaka, the bird of unparalleled self-respect. When afflicted with thirst, it either dies or begs from Indra [but will never drink water from anywhere but a raincloud, that is, from anywhere beneath him on the ground].”

    Read on →: eka eva khago mānī

  • vrajendra-kula dugdha-sindhu kṛṣṇa tāhe pūrṇa indu
    janmi kailā jagat ujora |
    kānty-amṛta yebā piye nirantara piyā jiye
    vraja-janera nayana-cakora ||
    (Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 3.19.36)

    “The family of Vraja’s King is an ocean of milk, and Kṛṣṇa is the full moon that has arisen from there and illuminated the world. The eyes of the people of Vraja are cakora birds who drink the nectar of Kṛṣṇa’s luster and live by [only] drink it continuously.”

    Read on →: vrajendra-kula dugdha-sindhu

  • haṁsaḥ padma-vanaṁ samicchhati yathā nīlāmbudaṁ cātakaḥ
    kokaḥ koka-nada-priyaṁ prati-dinaṁ candraṁ cakoras tathā |
    ceto vāñchati mām ekaṁ paśupate cinmārga-mṛgyaṁ vibho
    gaurīnātha bhavat padābja-yugalaṁ kaivalya-saukhya-pradam ||
    (Śaṅkarācārya‘s Śivānanda-laharī: 59)

    “As the swan longs for the lotus cluster,
    The cātaka for the dark blue cloud,
    The cakravāka for the sun,
    The cakora for the moon, day after day,
    So, my heart hankers only for your lotus feet,
    Which are the goal of the spiritual path,
    And which grant the joy of kaivalya,
    O all-pervading One, O Lord of all beings, O husband of Gaurī!”

    Read on →: haṁsaḥ padma-vanaṁ samicchhati yathā nīlāmbudaṁ cātakaḥ

  • nāhaṁ vipro na ca nara-patir nāpi vaiśyo na śūdro
    nāhaṁ varṇī na ca gṛha-patir no vanastho yatir vā |
    kintu prodyan nikhila-paramānanda-pūrnāmṛtābdher
    gopī-bhartuḥ pada-kamalayor dāsa-dāsānudāsaḥ ||
    (Padyāvalī: 74; cited in Caitanya-caritāmṛta: 2.13.80)

    “I am neither a brāhmaṇa, nor a kṣatriya, nor a vaiśya, nor a śūdra. I am neither a brahmacārī, nor a gṛhastha, nor a vānaprastha, nor a sannyāsī. Rather, I am an assisting servant of the servant of the servant of the lotus feet of the gopīs’ Lord—the brimming ocean of nectar filled with complete, paramount bliss.”

    Read on →: nāhaṁ vipro na ca nara-patir nāpi vaiśyo na śūdro

  • tatrāsakti-kṛd anyatra prīti-saṁhāriṇī hy asau |
    (Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu: 2.5.28)

    “It [i.e., the sthāyi-bhāva known as prīti, that is, dāsya-bhāva] produces attachment to him [i.e., Bhagavān] and completely destroys affection for all else.”

    Read on →: tatrāsakti-kṛd anyatra

  • santu ramyāṇi bhūrīṇi prārthyaṁ syād idam eva me |
    iti yo nirṇayo dhīrair abhimānaḥ sa ucyate ||
    (Ujjvala-nīlamaṇi: 14.19)

    “‘Let many pleasing things be [i.e., let me disregard them], and let this alone be desirable to me [i.e., let me desire only this],’—such determination is called abhimāna by the wise.”

    Read on →: santu ramyāṇi bhūrīṇi

Scroll to Top