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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 6: The Glories of Śrī Advaita Ācārya
Ādi 6.22Ādi 6.24

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 6.23

নারায়ণস্ত্বং ন হি সর্বদেহিনা–

মাত্মাস্যধীশাখিল–লোকসাক্ষী ।

নারায়ণোঽঙ্গং নর–ভূ–জলায়না–

ত্তচ্চাপি সত্যং ন তবৈব মায়া ॥ ২৩ ॥

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.

The Lord’s Plenary Portions Are Transcendental

  1. 1

    The Lord of lords is the seer of all creation and everyone’s dearest life. He is addressed as father, Nārāyaṇa.

  2. 2

    “Nārāyaṇa” refers to one whose abode is in the water born from Nara, Garbhodakaśāyī Viṣṇu. That Nārāyaṇa is a plenary portion of the Lord addressed here.

  3. 3

    All the Lord’s plenary portions are transcendental and absolute. They are not creations of māyā.

How it feels

Devotional appeal. The glory of Advaita frames service as the deepest form of greatness.

The mood of Ādi 6 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 6: The Glories of Śrī Advaita Ācārya

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

The efficient causal activities are caused by Mahā-Viṣṇu, and the material causal activities are caused by another form of Mahā-Viṣṇu, known as Advaita. That Advaita, the superintendent of the cosmic manifestation, has descended in the form of Advaita Ācārya to associate with Lord Caitanya.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Ādi 6
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 does it mean to me to hear the Lord described as everyone’s dearest life?

Practice

Read the final two sentences of the translation aloud, remembering that the Lord’s plenary portions are not creations of māyā.

Live this todayThe Lord’s Plenary Portions 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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