Ādi-līlā

Chapter 14: Lord Caitanya's Childhood Pastimes

Verse 5 of 97
Cc Ādi 14.5

বন্দে চৈতন্যকৃষ্ণস্য বাল্যলীলাং মনোহরাম্লৌকিকীমপি তামীশচেষ্টযা বলিতান্তরাম্

वन्दे चैतन्यकृष्णस्य बाल्यलीलां मनोहराम्लौकिकीमपि तामीशचेष्टया वलितान्तराम्

vande caitanya-kṛṣṇasya bālya-līlāṁ mano-harām laukikīm api tām īśa-ceṣṭayā valitāntarām

Synonyms

vandeI worship; caitanya-kṛṣṇasyaof Lord Caitanya, who is Kṛṣṇa Himself; bālya-līlāmpastimes of childhood; manaḥ-harāmwhich are so beautiful; laukikīmappearing ordinary; apialthough; tāmthose; īśa-ceṣṭayāby manifestation of supreme authority; valita-antarāmquite fit although appearing differently..

Translation

Let me offer my respectful obeisances unto the childhood pastimes of Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself. Although such pastimes appear exactly like those of an ordinary child, they should be understood as various pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Purport

In Bhagavad-gītā this statement is confirmed as follows:

avajānanti māṁ mūḍhā mānuṣīṁ tanum āśritam
paraṁ bhāvam ajānanto mama bhūta-maheśvaram

"Fools deride Me when I descend in the human form. They do not know My transcendental nature and My supreme dominion over all that be." (Bg. 9.11) The Supreme Personality of Godhead appears on this planet or within this universe like an ordinary human being or human child to execute His pastimes, yet He maintains His superiority as the Supreme Lord. Lord Kṛṣṇa appeared as a human child, but His uncommon activities, even in His childhood, like the killing of the demon Pūtanā or lifting of Govardana Hill, were not the engagements of an ordinary child. Similarly, although the pastimes of Lord Caitanya, as they will be described in this chapter, appear like the activities of a small boy, they are uncommon pastimes impossible for an ordinary human child to execute.

Verse 5 of 97
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