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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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Madhya-līlā · 25 chapters

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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 ›
Madhya-līlā · Chapter 18: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Visit to Śrī Vṛndāvana
Madhya 18.97Madhya 18.99

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 18.98

মহাপ্রভু দেখি’ ‘সত্য’ কৃষ্ণ-দরশন ।

নিজাজ্ঞানে সত্য ছাড়ি’ ‘অসত্যে সত্য-ভ্রম’ ॥ ৯৮ ॥

mahāprabhu dekhi’ ‘satya’ kṛṣṇa-daraśana

nijājñāne satya chāḍi’ ‘asatye satya-bhrama’

Translation

When the people saw Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they actually saw Kṛṣṇa, but because they were following their own imperfect knowledge, they accepted the wrong thing as Kṛṣṇa.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Imperfect Knowledge Can Mislead Us

  1. 1

    When the people saw Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they actually saw Kṛṣṇa.

  2. 2

    Yet they followed their own imperfect knowledge.

  3. 3

    Because of this, they accepted the wrong thing as Kṛṣṇa.

How it feels

Overwhelmed recognition. Seeing the places of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes evokes extraordinary remembrance and ecstasy.

The mood of Madhya 18 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 18: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu’s Visit to Śrī Vṛndāvana

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

When some respectable people came to see Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, they expressed their opinion that when one takes sannyāsa, he becomes Nārāyaṇa. Their mistake was corrected by the Lord.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 18
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. mahāprabhu dekhi’by seeing Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu
  2. satyatruly
  3. kṛṣṇa-daraśanaseeing Kṛṣṇa
  4. nija-ajñāneby their personal lack of knowledge
  5. satya chāḍi’giving up the real truth
  6. asatyeuntruth
  7. satya-bhramamistaking for the truth
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Where might confidence in my own imperfect knowledge keep me from recognizing the truth?

Practice

Reread the translation and pause to acknowledge that your own understanding can be imperfect.

Live this todayImperfect Knowledge Can Mislead UsThis 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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