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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 7: Lord Caitanya in Five Features
Ādi 7.2Ādi 7.4

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Ādi 7.3

পূর্বে গুর্বাদি ছয় তত্ত্বে কৈল নমস্কার ।

গুরুতত্ত্ব কহিয়াছি, এবে পাঁচের বিচার ॥ ৩ ॥

pūrve gurv-ādi chaya tattve kaila namaskāra

guru-tattva kahiyāchi, ebe pāṅcera vicāra

Translation

In the beginning I have discussed the truth about the spiritual master. Now I shall try to explain the Pañca-tattva.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Learning the Five Spiritual Truths

  1. 1

    Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī has already described the initiator spiritual master and the instructor spiritual master.

  2. 2

    The opening invocation contains six transcendental subjects. Having explained the truth about the spiritual master, the author now turns to the other five.

  3. 3

    These five truths concern the Supreme Lord, His expansion, His incarnation, His energy and His devotee.

Key points from the purport
  • In the first chapter of the Caitanya-caritāmṛta, Ādi-līlā, the author, Śrīla Kṛṣṇadāsa Kavirāja Gosvāmī, has described the initiator spiritual master and the instructor spiritual master in the verse beginning with the words vande gurūn īśa-bhaktān īśam īśāvatārakān.
  • In that verse there are six transcendental subject matters, of which the truth regarding the spiritual master has already been described.
  • Now the author will describe the other five tattvas (truths), namely, īśa-tattva (the Supreme Lord), His expansion tattva, His incarnation tattva, His energy tattva and His devotee tattva.

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. pūrvein the beginning
  2. guru-ādithe spiritual master and others
  3. chayasix
  4. tattvein the subjects of
  5. kailaI have done
  6. namaskāraobeisances
  7. guru-tattvathe truth in understanding the spiritual master
  8. kahiyāchiI have already described
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Sādhu-saṅga · Love grows through association

    Spiritual association shapes the movement, empowers disciples, and reveals truths through loving conversations. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “discussed”

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

Which of these five spiritual truths would I like to understand more clearly?

Practice

Write down the five truths listed here and read them slowly once.

5

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

1 lecture given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Live this todayLearning the Five Spiritual TruthsThis 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 7.3? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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