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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 7: Lord Caitanya in Five Features
Ādi 7.12Ādi 7.14

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 7.13

‘ভক্ত–অবতার’ তাঁর আচার্য–গোসাঞি ।

এই তিন তত্ত্ব সবে প্রভু করি’ গাই ॥ ১৩ ॥

‘bhakta-avatāra’ tāṅra ācārya-gosāñi

ei tina tattva sabe prabhu kari’ gāi

Translation

Śrī Advaita Ācārya is Lord Caitanya’s incarnation as a devotee. Therefore these three tattvas [Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Nityānanda Prabhu and Advaita Gosāñi] are the predominators, or masters.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Gosvāmī Means Qualification, Not Heredity

  1. 1

    A gosvāmī or gosāñi has full control over the mind and senses. A servant of the senses cannot become a spiritual master.

  2. 2

    Gosvāmī is not a hereditary title but refers to spiritual qualifications. A spiritually advanced person may be called Gosvāmī regardless of where that person comes from.

  3. 3

    Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, Śrī Nityānanda Prabhu and Śrī Advaita Gosāñi Prabhu are natural gosvāmīs because They belong to viṣṇu-tattva. All three are prabhus, or masters.

Key points from the purport
  • A spiritual master who actually has control over the mind and senses is called Gosvāmī.
  • Although the Gosvāmī title has become a hereditary designation for unscrupulous men, actually the title Gosāñi, or Gosvāmī, began from Śrī Rūpa Gosvāmī, who presented himself as an ordinary gṛhastha and minister in government service but became a gosvāmī when he was actually elevated by the instruction of Lord Caitanya Mahāprabhu.
  • As such, all of Them are prabhus (“predominators” or “masters”), and They are sometimes called Caitanya Gosāñi, Nityānanda Gosāñi and Advaita Gosāñi.

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
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. bhakta-avatāraincarnation as a devotee
  2. tāṅraHis
  3. ācārya-gosāñithe supreme teacher, Advaita Ācārya Prabhu
  4. eiall these
  5. tinathree
  6. tattvatruths
  7. sabeall
  8. prabhuthe predominator
  9. kari’by such understanding
  10. gāiwe sing
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Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Sevā · Love translated into service

    Devotional service expressed through cleansing, caring, teaching, honoring others, and living as Kṛṣṇa’s servant. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “servant”

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

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Do you give more weight to a spiritual title or to the qualifications it should represent?

Practice

When one unnecessary sense impulse arises today, pause before acting and practice restraint.

Live this todayGosvāmī Means Qualification, Not HeredityThis 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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