Skip to main content
Library » Śrī Caitanya-caritāmṛta » Ādi-līlā » CHAPTER SIXTEEN

CC Ādi 16.50

Bengali

ব্যাকরণিয়া তুমি নাহি পড় অলঙ্কার ।
তুমি কি জানিবে এই কবিত্বের সার ॥ ৫০ ॥

Text

vyākaraṇiyā tumi nāhi paḍa alaṅkāra
tumi ki jānibe ei kavitvera sāra

Synonyms

vyākaraṇiyā — a student of grammar; tumi — You are; nāhi — do not; paḍa — study; alaṅkāra — poetic ornaments; tumi — You; ki — what; jānibe — will know; ei — this; kavitvera — of poetic quality; sāra — review.

Translation

“You are an ordinary student of grammar. What do You know about literary embellishments? You cannot review this poetry because You do not know anything about it.”

Purport

Keśava Kāśmīrī first wanted to bluff Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu by saying that since He was not an advanced student in literary style, He could not review a verse full of metaphors and literary ornaments. This argument has some basis in fact. Unless one is a medical man he cannot criticize a medical man, and unless one is a lawyer he cannot criticize a lawyer. Therefore Keśava Kāśmīrī first depreciated the Lord’s position. Because Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu was to the champion a student of grammar, how could He dare criticize a great poet like him? Lord Caitanya, therefore, criticized the poet in a different way. He said that although He was certainly not advanced in a literary career, He had heard from others how to criticize such poetry, and as a śruti-dhara, possessing a complete memory, He could understand the process for such a review.