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Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.

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Ādi-līlā · 17 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 Ādi 12.35

ঈশ্বরের দৈন্য করি’ করিয়াছে ভিক্ষা ।

অতএব দণ্ড করি’ করাইব শিক্ষা ॥ ৩৫ ॥

īśvarera dainya kari’ kariyāche bhikṣā

ataeva daṇḍa kari’ karāiba śikṣā

Translation

“But he has made the incarnation of Godhead a poverty-stricken beggar. Therefore I shall punish him in order to correct him.”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Do Not Describe God as Poverty-Stricken

  1. 1

    To call someone an incarnation of God and at the same time present him as poverty-stricken is contradictory. The purport calls this the greatest offense.

  2. 2

    The Māyāvādī teaching that everyone is God includes calling a poor man daridra-nārāyaṇa, or “poor Nārāyayaṇa.” Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu rejected such unauthorized ideas.

  3. 3

    The Lord said He would punish the writer in order to correct him. The purport strongly warns against following Māyāvāda philosophy.

Key points from the purport
  • To describe a man as an incarnation of God, or Nārāyaṇa, and at the same time present him as poverty-stricken is contradictory, and it is the greatest offense.
  • The Māyāvādī philosophers, engaged in the missionary work of spoiling the Vedic culture by preaching that everyone is God, describe a poverty-stricken man as daridra-nārāyaṇa, or “poor Nārāyaṇa.”
  • Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu never accepted such foolish and unauthorized ideas.

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

Loyalty and discernment. The narrative distinguishes fidelity to the ācārya from deviation.

The mood of Ādi 12 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 12: The Expansions of Advaita Ācārya and Gadādhara Paṇḍita

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

This chapter also includes narrations concerning the son of Advaita Ācārya named Gopāla Miśra and Advaita Ācārya’s servant named Kamalākānta Viśvāsa. In his early life Gopāla fainted during the cleansing of the Guṇḍicā-mandira at Jagannātha Purī and thus became a recipient of the mercy of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 12
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. īśvareraof the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  2. dainyapoverty
  3. kari’establishing
  4. kariyāchehas done
  5. bhikṣābegging
  6. ataevatherefore
  7. daṇḍapunishment
  8. kari’giving him
  9. karāibashall cause
  10. śikṣāinstruction
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Why is it contradictory to describe the Supreme Lord as a poverty-stricken beggar?

Practice

Write one sentence explaining why the expression “poor Nārāyaṇa” is rejected in this purport.

Live this todayDo Not Describe God as Poverty-StrickenThis 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 Ādi 12.35? Get an answer from the verses themselves.