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

Madhya-līlā · 25 chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425
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 19: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī
Madhya 19.139Madhya 19.141

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 19.140

কেশাগ্রশতভাগস্য শতাংশসদৃশাত্মকঃ ।

জীবঃ সূক্ষ্মস্বরূপোঽয়ং সংখ্যাতীতো হি চিৎকণঃ ॥ ১৪০ ॥

keśāgra-śata-bhāgasya

śatāṁśa-sadṛśātmakaḥ

jivaḥ sūkṣma-svarūpo ’yaṁ

saṅkhyātīto hi cit-kaṇaḥ

Translation

“ ‘If we divide the tip of a hair into a hundred parts and then take one of these parts and divide it again into a hundred parts, that very fine division is the size of but one of the numberless living entities. They are all cit-kaṇa, particles of spirit, not matter.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Living Entities Are Particles of Spirit

  1. 1

    Dividing the tip of a hair into a hundred parts, and one of those into another hundred, illustrates the size of one living entity.

  2. 2

    The numberless living entities are cit-kaṇa, particles of spirit, not matter.

  3. 3

    Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms that the living entities in this conditioned world are His eternal fragmental parts.

Key points from the purport
  • This is quoted from the commentary on the portion of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam wherein the Vedas personified offer their obeisances unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
  • Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms this statement in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.7): mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ.

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 Madhya 19.140 quotesBG 15.7

Lord Kṛṣṇa confirms this statement in the Bhagavad-gītā (15.7): mamaivāṁśo jīva-loke jīva-bhūtaḥ sanātanaḥ.

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

Empowerment and hope. The seed of bhakti is received, planted, and watered; intimate realization becomes transmissible.

The mood of Madhya 19 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 19: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī

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

Kavirāja Gosvāmī then extensively describes the living condition of Śrī Rūpa and Sanātana at Vṛndāvana. During the ten days at Prayāga, Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī was instructed by the Lord, who gave him the basic principles of the Bhakti-rasāmṛta-sindhu.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 19
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. keśa-agraof the tip of a hair
  2. śata-bhāgasyaof one hundredth
  3. śata-aṁśaa hundredth part
  4. sadṛśaequal to
  5. ātmakaḥwhose nature
  6. jīvaḥthe living entity
  7. sūkṣmavery fine
  8. svarūpaḥidentification
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does understanding myself as an eternal fragmental part of Lord Kṛṣṇa affect my sense of identity?

Practice

Write down and reflect on this statement today: “The living entities are particles of spirit, not matter.”

4

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

Quoted in 28 lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 28 lectures

In each of these he quotes this verse while speaking on another verse or subject. "Find the quote" opens the transcript at that spot.

Live this todayLiving Entities Are Particles of SpiritThis 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 Madhya 19.140? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 9 · 2 minAsk Caitanya CaritamrtaBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the book's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnLīlās & chapters