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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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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 2.53

বিরাড়্‌ হিরণ্যগর্ভশ্চ কারণং চেত্যুপাধয়ঃ ।

ঈশস্য যত্রিভির্হীনং তুরীয়ং তৎ প্রচক্ষতে ॥ ৫৩ ॥

virāḍ hiraṇya-garbhaś ca

kāraṇaṁ cety upādhayaḥ

īśasya yat tribhir hīnaṁ

turīyaṁ tat pracakṣate

Translation

“ ‘In the material world the Lord is designated as virāṭ, hiraṇyagarbha and kāraṇa. But beyond these three designations, the Lord is ultimately in the fourth dimension.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Beyond the Designations of Material Creation

  1. 1

    Virāṭ means the phenomenal manifestation of the Supreme Whole, hiraṇyagarbha the numinous soul of everything, and kāraṇa the cause or causal nature.

  2. 2

    These are designations of the puruṣas responsible for material creation.

  3. 3

    The Lord’s transcendental position surpasses these three designations. It is therefore called the position of the fourth dimension.

Key points from the purport
  • Virāṭ (the phenomenal manifestation of the Supreme Whole), hiraṇyagarbha (the numinous soul of everything), and kāraṇa (the cause, or causal nature) are all but designations of the puruṣas, who are responsible for material creation.
  • The transcendental position surpasses these designations and is therefore called the position of the fourth dimension.
  • This is a quotation from Śrīdhara Svāmī’s commentary on the Eleventh Canto, fifteenth chapter, verse 16, of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

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:

Innumerable material universes are similarly exhibited by His external energy, and the living entities are manifested by His marginal energy. Because Lord Kṛṣṇa Caitanya is not different from Lord Kṛṣṇa, He is the cause of all causes; there is no cause beyond Him.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 2
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. virāṭthe virāṭ manifestation
  2. hiraṇya-garbhaḥthe hiraṇyagarbha manifestation
  3. caand
  4. kāraṇamthe kāraṇa manifestation
  5. caand
  6. itithus
  7. upādhayaḥparticular designations
  8. īśasyaof the Lord
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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Why is it important to distinguish the Lord’s creative designations from His transcendental position?

Practice

Write the three designations and their meanings, then add: “The Lord’s transcendental position surpasses these.”

Live this todayBeyond the Designations of Material CreationThis 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.

Ask Caitanya CaritamrtaHave a question about CC Ādi 2.53? Get an answer from the verses themselves.