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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 ›
Madhya-līlā · Chapter 19: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Śrīla Rūpa Gosvāmī
Madhya 19.140Madhya 19.142

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 19.141

বালাগ্রশতভাগস্য শতধা কল্পিতস্য চ ।

ভাগো জীবঃ স বিজ্ঞেয় ইতি চাহ পরা শ্রুতিঃ ॥ ১৪১ ॥

bālāgra-śata-bhāgasya

śatadhā kalpitasya ca

bhāgo jīvaḥ sa vijñeya

iti cāha parā śrutiḥ

Translation

“ ‘If we divide the tip of a hair into one hundred parts and then take one part and divide this into another one hundred parts, that ten-thousandth part is the dimension of the living entity. This is the verdict of the chief Vedic mantras.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Vedic Description of the Living Entity

  1. 1

    The living entity’s dimension is described as one ten-thousandth part of the tip of a hair.

  2. 2

    The translation presents this description as the verdict of the chief Vedic mantras.

  3. 3

    The purport identifies the verse as coming from the Pañcadaśī-citra-dīpa. Its first three padas are taken from the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad.

Key points from the purport
  • The first three padas of this verse from the Pañcadaśī-citra-dīpa (81) are taken from the Śvetāśvatara Upaniṣad (5.9).

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

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. bāla-agrathe tip of a hair
  2. śata-bhāgasyaof one hundredth
  3. śatadhāinto one hundred parts
  4. kalpitasyadivided
  5. caand
  6. bhāgaḥminute portion
  7. jīvaḥthe living entity
  8. saḥthat
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does knowing the teaching’s Vedic source shape the way I study it?

Practice

Read the translation once today, then name the two sources identified in the purport.

Live this todayThe Vedic Description of the Living EntityThis 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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