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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 17.257

প্রভুর নিন্দায় সবার বুদ্ধি হৈল নাশ ।

সুপঠিত বিদ্যা কারও না হয় প্রকাশ ॥ ২৫৭ ॥

prabhura nindāya sabāra buddhi haila nāśa

supaṭhita vidyā kārao nā haya prakāśa

Translation

When all the students thus resolved, criticizing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, their intelligence was spoiled. Thus although they were learned scholars, because of this offense the essence of knowledge was not manifested in them.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Offense Obscures the Essence of Knowledge

  1. 1

    By resolving to criticize Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the students committed an offense and spoiled their intelligence.

  2. 2

    Although they were learned scholars, the essence of knowledge was not manifested in them.

  3. 3

    When one becomes inimical to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the Lord’s illusory energy steals the essence of one’s knowledge.

Key points from the purport
  • In the Bhagavad-gītā it is said, māyayāpahṛta-jñānā āsuraṁ bhāvam āśritāḥ: when one becomes inimical to the Supreme Personnality of Godhead, adopting an atheistic attitude (āsuraṁ bhāvam), even if one is a learned scholar the essence of knowledge does not become manifested in him; in other words, the essence of his knowledge is stolen by the illusory energy of the Lord.
  • In this connection Śrī Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura quotes a mantra from the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (6.23):

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

Public courage and ecstatic joy. The saṅkīrtana movement confronts opposition and moves toward recognition and expansion.

The mood of Ādi 17 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 17: The Pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu in His Youth

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

All the Lord’s other associates, situated in their original love, engage in the service of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu. The same Absolute Truth who enjoys as Kṛṣṇa, Śyāmasundara, who plays His flute and dances with the gopīs, sometimes takes birth in a brāhmaṇa family and plays the part of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, accepting the renounced order of life.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 17
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. prabhuraof the Lord
  2. nindāyain accusation
  3. sabāraof everyone
  4. buddhithe intelligence
  5. hailabecame
  6. nāśaspoiled
  7. su-paṭhitawell-studied
  8. vidyāknowledge
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I cultivating respect for the Supreme Personality of Godhead alongside my learning?

Practice

Before studying today, pause to examine whether you are approaching the Lord with respect or hostility.

Live this todayOffense Obscures the Essence of KnowledgeThis 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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