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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 ›

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 7.103

ইহা শুনি’ বলে সর্ব সন্ন্যাসীর গণ ।

তোমাকে দেখিয়ে যৈছে সাক্ষাৎ নারায়ণ ॥ ১০৩ ॥

ihā śuni’ bale sarva sannyāsīra gaṇa

tomāke dekhiye yaiche sākṣāt nārāyaṇa

Translation

Hearing this, the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs became somewhat humble and addressed Caitanya Mahāprabhu as Nārāyaṇa Himself, who they all agreed He was.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Recognizing the Lord With Humility

  1. 1

    Māyāvādī sannyāsīs address one another as Nārāyaṇa, but this does not make them Nārāyaṇa. The purport rejects placing Nārāyaṇa and an ordinary human being on the same level.

  2. 2

    Due to their austerities, Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu enabled these sannyāsīs to understand Him to be Nārāyaṇa Himself. Hearing Him, they became somewhat humble.

  3. 3

    Lord Caitanya is the Supreme Personality of Godhead Nārāyaṇa appearing as a devotee of Nārāyaṇa. The sannyāsīs recognized the difference between His actual identity and their own proud claims.

Key points from the purport
  • Nārāyaṇa has four hands, but although they are puffed up with the idea of being Nārāyaṇa, they cannot exhibit more than two.
  • Therefore although all these Māyāvādī sannyāsīs who called themselves Nārāyaṇa were actually unaware of the position of Nārāyaṇa, due to their austerities Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu enabled them to understand Him to be Nārāyaṇa Himself.
  • Lord Caitanya is certainly the Supreme Personality of Godhead Nārāyaṇa appearing as a devotee of Nārāyaṇa, and thus the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs, understanding that He was directly Nārāyaṇa Himself whereas they were false, puffed-up Nārāyaṇas, spoke to Him as follows.

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

Collective delight. The Pañca-tattva gives divine love a relational and communal form.

The mood of Ādi 7 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Ādi 7: Lord Caitanya in Five Features

Back to this verse in Ādi 7
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. ihāthis
  2. śuni’hearing
  3. balespoke
  4. sarvaall
  5. sannyāsīraof the Māyāvādī sannyāsīs
  6. gaṇagroup
  7. tomākeunto You
  8. dekhiyewe see
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Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Dainya & humility · Making room for grace

    The humility expressed by the author, devotees, transformed scholars, renunciants, and the Śikṣāṣṭaka. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “humble”

Concept links are an editorial study map; only the verse is the text itself.

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Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does recognizing the Lord’s position help me approach Him with humility?

Practice

Reread the translation today, pausing to acknowledge Lord Caitanya’s position rather than placing yourself on His level.

Live this todayRecognizing the Lord With HumilityThis 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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