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Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.
Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 16.238
মর্কট-বৈরাগ্য না কর লোক দেখাঞা ।
যথাযোগ্য বিষয় ভুঞ্জ’ অনাসক্ত হঞা ॥ ২৩৮ ॥
markaṭa-vairāgya nā kara loka dekhāñā
yathā-yogya viṣaya bhuñja’ anāsakta hañā
“You should not make yourself a showbottle devotee and become a false renunciant. For the time being, enjoy the material world in a befitting way and do not become attached to it.”
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioThree study points drawn from the translation and purport.
The Lord warned against becoming a showbottle devotee or false renunciant. For the time being, Raghunātha dāsa should enjoy the material world in a befitting way without attachment.
Markaṭa-vairāgya means monkey renunciation: an external show of renunciation while remaining busy with sense gratification.
Real renunciation requires seeing material activity as a stumbling block to spiritual advancement. It should last throughout life, not disappear like the temporary detachment felt at a cremation ground.
Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.
Yearning and deferral. Attempts, delays, meetings, and farewells heighten the desire to reach Vraja.
The mood of Madhya 16 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas
From Śrīla Prabhupāda's chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:
Thereafter He visited the house of Rāghava Paṇḍita, and from there He went to Kumārahaṭṭa and eventually to Kuliyā, where He excused many offenders. From there He went to Rāmakeli, where He saw Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana and accepted them as His chief disciples.Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 16
Learn the words of the verse.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
Am I seeking genuine freedom from attachment, or merely the appearance of renunciation?
While using one material comfort today, notice your attachment to it without making an outward show of renunciation.
His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.
Quoted in 2 lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.
In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.
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 Madhya 16.238? Get an answer from the verses themselves.