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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 17.308

অচিন্ত্যাঃ খলু যে ভাবা ন তাংস্তর্কেণ যোজয়েৎ ।

প্রকৃতিভ্যঃ পরং যচ্চ তদচিন্ত্যস্য লক্ষণম্‌ ॥ ৩০৮ ॥

acintyāḥ khalu ye bhāvā

na tāṁs tarkeṇa yojayet

prakṛtibhyaḥ paraṁ yac ca

tad acintyasya lakṣaṇam

Translation

“Anything transcendental to material nature is called inconceivable, whereas arguments are all mundane. Since mundane arguments cannot touch transcendental subject matters, one should not try to understand transcendental subjects through mundane arguments.”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Mundane Arguments Cannot Reach Transcendental Subjects

  1. 1

    Anything transcendental to material nature is called inconceivable; mundane arguments cannot touch such subjects.

  2. 2

    This teaching comes from the Mahābhārata.

  3. 3

    Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī also quotes this verse in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu.

Key points from the purport
  • This verse from the Mahābhārata (Bhīṣma-parva 5.22) is also quoted in the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu (2.5.93), by Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī.

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:

There is no need of mundane arguments in this connection, because mundane arguments are meaningless in regard to inconceivable potency. At the end of the seventeenth chapter, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, following in the footsteps of Śrīla Vyāsadeva, has summarized all the ādi-līlā pastimes separately.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 17
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. acintyāḥinconceivable
  2. khalucertainly
  3. yethose
  4. bhāvāḥsubject matters
  5. nanot
  6. tānthem
  7. tarkeṇaby argument
  8. yojayetone may understand
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might recognizing the limits of mundane arguments change my approach to transcendental subjects?

Practice

Write one sentence summarizing why this verse advises against understanding transcendental subjects through mundane arguments.

Live this todayMundane Arguments Cannot Reach Transcendental SubjectsThis 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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