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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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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 14.33

আত্ম লুকাইতে প্রভু বলিলা তাঁহারে ।

“আগে কেন ইহা, মাতা, না শিখালে মোরে ॥ ৩৩ ॥

ātma lukāite prabhu balilā tāṅhāre

“āge kena ihā, mātā, nā śikhāle more

Translation

The Lord replied to His mother, “Why did you conceal self-realization by not teaching Me this practical philosophy in the beginning?

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Energy Has Unity and Variety

  1. 1

    Learning Vaiṣṇava philosophy from the beginning of life helps one avoid being troubled by monistic philosophy. Everything is an emanation from the supreme source.

  2. 2

    Sunshine appears as both light and heat. They cannot be separated, yet light and heat are not the same.

  3. 3

    Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s philosophy is acintya-bhedābheda, inconceivable nonseparation and distinction. The whole cosmic manifestation is the Lord’s energy, exhibited in varieties of manifestations.

Key points from the purport
  • If from the beginning of life one is taught the Vaiṣṇava philosophy of duality or variety, the monistic philosophy will not bother him very much.
  • The original energy is exhibited in varieties, exactly as the sunshine, the original energy emanating from the sun, exhibits itself in variety as light and heat.
  • Therefore Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s philosophy is acintya-bhedābheda, inconceivable nonseparation and distinction.

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

Parental tenderness and play. Nimāi’s childhood alternates affection, mischief, and revelations.

The mood of Ādi 14 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 14: Lord Caitanya’s Childhood Pastimes

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

Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura has given a summary of this chapter in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya: “In the fourteenth chapter there is a description of how Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu enjoyed His childhood pastimes — crawling, crying, eating dirt and giving intelligence to His mother, favoring a brāhmaṇa guest, riding on the shoulders of two thieves and misleading them to His own house, and, on the plea of being diseased, taking prasādam in the house of Hiraṇya and Jagadīśa on the Ekādaśī day.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 14
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. ātmaHimself
  2. lukāiteto hide
  3. prabhuthe Lord
  4. balilāreplied
  5. tāṅhāreunto Śacīmātā
  6. āgein the beginning
  7. kenawhy
  8. ihāthis
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Vipralambha · Love in separation

    Separation that intensifies remembrance and longing; especially central to the confidential pastimes at Purī. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “separated”

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 does the example of light and heat help you understand unity together with difference?

Practice

Write one sentence explaining how light and heat are connected yet distinct.

Live this todayThe Lord’s Energy Has Unity and VarietyThis 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 14.33? Get an answer from the verses themselves.