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Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.
Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 16.52
নাহি পড়ি অলঙ্কার, করিয়াছি শ্রবণ ।
তাতে এই শ্লোকে দেখি বহু দোষ–গুণ ॥ ৫২ ॥
nāhi paḍi alaṅkāra, kariyāchi śravaṇa
tāte ei śloke dekhi bahu doṣa-guṇa
“Certainly I have not studied the art of literary embellishments. But I have heard about it from higher circles, and thus I can review this verse and find in it many faults and many good qualities.”
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioThree study points drawn from the translation and purport.
The purport emphasizes that hearing is more important than directly studying or perceiving. Expert hearing from the right source gives perfect knowledge.
This process is called śrauta-panthā, acquiring knowledge by hearing from authorities. Vedic knowledge requires approaching a bona fide spiritual master and hearing the authoritative statements of the Vedas.
Literary polish is not necessary for receiving perfect knowledge from a perfect person; expertise in hearing is necessary. This descending process of deductive knowledge is called avaroha-panthā.
Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.
Grief and transformed pride. Lakṣmīdevī’s departure brings sorrow; Keśava Kāśmīrī’s pride yields to surrender.
The mood of Ādi 16 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas
From Śrīla Prabhupāda's chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:
In this prayer the Lord found five kinds of literary ornaments and five kinds of literary faults, thus defeating the paṇḍita. Later the Kāśmīrī Paṇḍita, who was known to have been victorious all over the country, submitted himself to the goddess of learning, and by her order he met Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu on the morning of the next day and surrendered unto Him.Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 16
Learn the words of the verse.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
How carefully do I hear, and how much attention do I give to the source?
Spend a few minutes attentively hearing an instruction from a bona fide spiritual master, then recall its main point.
Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.
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