1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by līlā and chapter

Antya-līlā · 20 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 Antya 5.119

পূর্ণ-ষড়শ্বৈর্য চৈতন্য — স্বয়ং ভগবান্ ।

তাঁরে কৈলি ক্ষুদ্র জীব স্ফুলিঙ্গ-সমান !! ১১৯ ।। ॥ ১১৯ ॥

pūrṇa-ṣaḍ-aiśvarya caitanya — svayaṁ bhagavān

tāṅre kaili kṣudra jīva sphuliṅga-samāna!!

Translation

“You have calculated Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, who is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, full in six opulences, to be on the level of an ordinary living being. Instead of knowing Him as the supreme fire, you have accepted Him as a spark.”

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Supreme Fire, Not a Spark

  1. 1

    Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, full in six opulences. He must not be placed on the level of an ordinary living being.

  2. 2

    The Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa is compared to the original great fire, while living entities are compared to sparks. They are small fragmental parts of the Supreme Lord.

  3. 3

    The Vedic message teaches this distinction between the Lord and living entities. A person controlled by the external energy cannot understand it.

Key points from the purport
  • In the Upaniṣads it is said, yathāgner visphuliṅgā vyuccaranti: the living entities are like sparks of fire, and His Lordship the Supreme Personality of Godhead is considered the original great fire.
  • When we hear this śruti-vākya, or message from the Vedas, we should understand the distinction between the Supreme Lord Kṛṣṇa and the living entities.
  • Such a person cannot understand that the Supreme Person is the original great fire, whereas the living entities are simply small fragmental parts of that Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of CC Antya 5.119 quotesBG 15.7

As Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.7):

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Humility and discernment. The Lord directs a seeker to Rāmānanda and clarifies genuine spiritual qualification.

The mood of Antya 5 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Antya 5: How Pradyumna Miśra Received Instructions from Rāmānanda Rāya

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

A brāhmaṇa from Bengal composed a drama about the activities of Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and went to Jagannātha Purī to show it to the associates of the Lord. When Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s secretary, Svarūpa Dāmodara Gosvāmī, heard the drama, he discerned a tinge of Māyāvāda philosophy and pointed it out to the author.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Antya 5
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. pūrṇacomplete
  2. ṣaṭ-aiśvaryapossessing six opulences
  3. caitanyaLord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
  4. svayamHimself
  5. bhagavānthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  6. tāṅreHim
  7. kailiyou have made
  8. kṣudra jīvaan ordinary living entity
  9. sphuliṅga-samānaexactly equal to the spark
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does the image of fire and sparks help me understand my relationship with the Supreme Lord?

Practice

Write one sentence explaining why Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu is compared to the supreme fire rather than a spark.

Live this todayThe Supreme Fire, Not a SparkThis 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 Antya 5.119? Get an answer from the verses themselves.