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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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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 ›
Ādi-līlā · Chapter 1: The Spiritual Masters
Ādi 1.90Ādi 1.92

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 1.91

ধর্মঃ প্রোজ্‌ঝিতকৈতবোঽত্র পরমো নির্মৎসরাণাং সতাং

বেদ্যং বাস্তবমত্র বস্তু শিবদং তাপত্রয়োন্মূলনম্‌ ।

শ্রীমদ্ভাগবতে মহামুনিকৃতে কিংবাপরৈরীশ্বরঃ

সদ্যো হৃদ্যবরুধ্যতেঽত্র কৃতিভিঃ শুশ্রূষুভিস্তৎক্ষণাৎ ॥ ৯১ ॥

dharmaḥ projjhita-kaitavo ’tra paramo nirmatsarāṇāṁ satāṁ

vedyaṁ vāstavam atra vastu śiva-daṁ tāpa-trayonmūlanam

śrīmad-bhāgavate mahā-muni-kṛte kiṁ vā parair īśvaraḥ

sadyo hṛdy avarudhyate ’tra kṛtibhiḥ śuśrūṣubhis tat-kṣaṇāt

Translation

“The great scripture Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, compiled by Mahā-muni Vyāsadeva from four original verses, describes the most elevated and kindhearted devotees and completely rejects the cheating ways of materially motivated religiosity. It propounds the highest principle of eternal religion, which can factually mitigate the threefold miseries of a living being and award the highest benediction of full prosperity and knowledge. Those willing to hear the message of this scripture in a submissive attitude of service can at once capture the Supreme Lord in their hearts. Therefore there is no need for any scripture other than Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Hear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam With an Attitude of Service

  1. 1

    Vyāsadeva is not an ordinary man but is empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He compiled Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to narrate pastimes of the Supreme Lord and His devotees.

  2. 2

    Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam completely rejects materially motivated religiosity. It teaches the highest principle of eternal religion, which can mitigate the threefold miseries and award full prosperity and knowledge.

  3. 3

    Those willing to hear its message in a submissive attitude of service can at once capture the Supreme Lord in their hearts. The translation therefore declares that no other scripture is needed.

Key points from the purport
  • The words mahā-muni-kṛte indicate that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was compiled by the great sage Vyāsadeva, who is sometimes known as Nārāyaṇa Mahā-muni because he is an incarnation of Nārāyaṇa.
  • Vyāsadeva, therefore, is not an ordinary man but is empowered by the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • He compiled the beautiful Bhāgavatam to narrate some of the pastimes of the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotees.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of CC Ādi 1.91 quotesSB 1.1.2

This verse appears in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.1.2). The words mahā-muni-kṛte indicate that Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was compiled by the great sage Vyāsadeva, who is sometimes known as Nārāyaṇa Mahā-muni because he is an incarnation of Nārāyaṇa.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Reverence and gratitude. The narrator takes shelter of the guru-paramparā; receptivity begins with humility.

The mood of Ādi 1 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 1: The Spiritual Masters

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

Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa and His plenary expansions are all in the category of the Lord Himself, the energetic Absolute Truth, whereas His devotees, His eternal associates, are His energies. The energy and energetic are fundamentally one, but since their functions are differently exhibited, they are simultaneously different also.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 1
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. dharmaḥreligiosity
  2. projjhitacompletely rejected
  3. kaitavaḥin which fruitive intention
  4. atraherein
  5. paramaḥthe highest
  6. nirmatsarāṇāmof the one-hundred-percent pure in heart
  7. satāmdevotees
  8. vedyamto be understood
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Sevā · Love translated into service

    Devotional service expressed through cleansing, caring, teaching, honoring others, and living as Kṛṣṇa’s servant. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “service”

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 could you approach hearing with a more submissive attitude of service?

Practice

Reread the quoted message of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam slowly, with a willingness to learn and serve.

Live this todayHear Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam With an Attitude of ServiceThis 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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