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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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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 2.4Ādi 2.6

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 2.5

যদদ্বৈতং ব্রহ্মোপনিষদি তদপ্যস্য তনুভা

য আত্মান্তর্যামী পুরুষ ইতি সোঽস্যাংশবিভবঃ ।

ষড়ৈশ্বর্যেঃ পূর্ণো য ইহ ভগবান্‌ স স্বয়ময়ং

ন চৈতন্যাৎ কৃষ্ণাজ্জগতি পরতত্ত্বং পরমিহ ॥ ৫ ॥

yad advaitaṁ brahmopaniṣadi tad apy asya tanu-bhā

ya ātmāntar-yāmī puruṣa iti so ’syāṁśa-vibhavaḥ

ṣaḍ-aiśvaryaiḥ pūrṇo ya iha bhagavān sa svayam ayaṁ

na caitanyāt krṣṇāj jagati para-tattvaṁ param iha

Translation

What the Upaniṣads describe as the impersonal Brahman is but the effulgence of His body, and the Lord known as the Supersoul is but His localized plenary portion. Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa Himself, full with six opulences. He is the Absolute Truth, and no other truth is greater than or equal to Him.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Lord Caitanya Is Kṛṣṇa Himself

  1. 1

    Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Kṛṣṇa Himself, full with six opulences. Impersonal Brahman is His bodily effulgence, and the Supersoul is His localized plenary portion; no truth is greater than or equal to Him.

  2. 2

    The Upaniṣads teach that knowledge of the Absolute Truth must be received from a bona fide spiritual master. One who has faith in the spiritual master receives transcendental instruction.

  3. 3

    As attachment to material life decreases, one advances on the spiritual path. The transcendental knowledge of the Upaniṣads can free one from material entanglement and lead to the spiritual kingdom.

Key points from the purport
  • The Upaniṣads, which are considered the most elevated portion of the Vedic literatures, are meant for persons who desire to get free from material association and who therefore approach a bona fide spiritual master for enlightenment.
  • The prefix upa- indicates that one must receive knowledge about the Absolute Truth from a spiritual master.
  • Knowledge of the transcendental science of the Upaniṣads can free one from the entanglement of existence in the material world, and when thus liberated, one can be elevated to the spiritual kingdom of the Supreme Personality of Godhead by advancement in spiritual life.

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

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:

Therefore, the Brahman effulgence is the bodily luster of Lord Caitanya, and the localized Supersoul situated in the heart of every living entity is His partial representation. The puruṣa-avatāras are also explained in this connection.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 2
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. yatthat which
  2. advaitamwithout a second
  3. brahmathe impersonal Brahman
  4. upaniṣadiin the Upaniṣads
  5. tatthat
  6. apicertainly
  7. asyaHis
  8. tanu-bhāthe effulgence of His transcendental body
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How willing am I to receive spiritual instruction that challenges my attachment to material life?

Practice

Reread the translation and put into one sentence its teaching about Lord Caitanya’s identity.

Live this todayLord Caitanya Is Kṛṣṇa HimselfThis 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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