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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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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 ›
Ādi-līlā · Chapter 2: Śri Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead
Ādi 2.29Ādi 2.31

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 2.30

নারায়ণস্ত্বং ন হি সর্বদেহিনা–

মাত্মাস্যধীশাখিললোকসাক্ষী ।

নারায়ণোঽঙ্গং নরভূ–জলায়না–

ত্তচ্চাপি সত্যং ন তবৈব মায়া ॥ ৩০ ॥

nārāyaṇas tvaṁ na hi sarva-dehinām

ātmāsy adhīśākhila-loka-sākṣī

nārāyaṇo ’ṅgaṁ nara-bhū-jalāyanāt

tac cāpi satyaṁ na tavaiva māyā

Translation

“O Lord of lords, You are the seer of all creation. You are indeed everyone’s dearest life. Are You not, therefore, my father, Nārāyaṇa? Nārāyaṇa refers to one whose abode is in the water born from Nara [Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu], and that Nārāyaṇa is Your plenary portion. All Your plenary portions are transcendental. They are absolute and are not creations of māyā.”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Kṛṣṇa’s Expansions Are Transcendental

  1. 1

    After testing Lord Kṛṣṇa and witnessing His mystic power, Brahmā admitted defeat. He praised Kṛṣṇa as the proprietor and seer of creation and the Supersoul dear to every living entity.

  2. 2

    Lord Kṛṣṇa is Nārāyaṇa, the father of Brahmā. His plenary expansion Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu created Brahmā from His own body.

  3. 3

    All the Lord’s plenary portions are transcendental and absolute, not creations of māyā. Mahā-Viṣṇu and Kṣīrodakaśāyī Viṣṇu are also transcendental expansions of the Supreme Truth.

Key points from the purport
  • This statement, which is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.14), was spoken by Lord Brahmā in his prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa after the Lord had defeated him by displaying His mystic powers.
  • When Brahmā saw this mystic power of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s, he admitted defeat and offered prayers to the Lord, addressing Him as the proprietor and seer of everything in the creation and as the Supersoul who is within each and every living entity and is dear to all.
  • That Lord Kṛṣṇa is Nārāyaṇa, the father of Brahmā, because Lord Kṛṣṇa’s plenary expansion Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu, after placing Himself on the Garbha Ocean, created Brahmā from His own body.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of CC Ādi 2.30 quotesSB 10.14.14

This statement, which is from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.14), was spoken by Lord Brahmā in his prayers to Lord Kṛṣṇa after the Lord had defeated him by displaying His mystic powers.

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Revelatory awe. The identity of Caitanya as Kṛṣṇa is established; wonder becomes theological confidence.

The mood of Ādi 2 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 2: Śri Caitanya Mahāprabhu, the Supreme Personality of Godhead

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

Mahā-Viṣṇu is the reservoir of all conditioned souls, but, as confirmed in the authoritative scriptures, Lord Kṛṣṇa is the ultimate fountainhead, the source of numerous plenary expansions, including Nārāyaṇa, who is generally accepted by Māyāvādī philosophers to be the Absolute Truth. The Lord’s manifestation of prābhava and vaibhava expansions, as well as partial incarnations and incarnations with delegated powers, are also explained.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 2
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. nārāyaṇaḥLord Nārāyaṇa
  2. tvamYou
  3. nanot
  4. hicertainly
  5. sarvaall
  6. dehināmof the embodied beings
  7. ātmāthe Supersoul
  8. asiYou are
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What can I learn from Brahmā’s willingness to admit defeat and offer prayers?

Practice

Offer a brief prayer acknowledging Lord Kṛṣṇa as the seer of creation and the Supersoul dear to all.

Live this todayKṛṣṇa’s Expansions Are TranscendentalThis 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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