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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 20: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Sanātana Gosvāmī in the Science of the Absolute Truth
Madhya 20.104Madhya 20.106

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.105

কৃষ্ণশক্তি ধর তুমি, জান তত্ত্বভাব ।

জানি’ দার্ঢ্য লাগি’ পুছে, — সাধুর স্বভাব ॥ ১০৫ ॥

kṛṣṇa-śakti dhara tumi, jāna tattva-bhāva

jāni’ dārḍhya lāgi’ puche, — sādhura svabhāva

Translation

“Since you possess Lord Kṛṣṇa’s potency, you certainly know these things. However, it is the nature of a sādhu to inquire. Although he knows these things, the sādhu inquires for the sake of strictness.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

Lives touched by mercyŚrī Sanātana Gosvāmī · step 1, Condition: Former minister in inquiry
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

A Sādhu Inquires Even When He Knows

  1. 1

    The person being addressed possesses Lord Kṛṣṇa’s potency and therefore certainly knows these things.

  2. 2

    Nevertheless, it is the nature of a sādhu to inquire.

  3. 3

    Even when he knows, a sādhu inquires for the sake of strictness.

How it feels

Humility and restored identity. A seeker relinquishes status, asks fundamental questions, and receives sambandha knowledge.

The mood of Madhya 20 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 20: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Sanātana Gosvāmī in the Science of the Absolute Truth

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

Sanātana Gosvāmī, however, asked his servant how much money he had, and taking seven of the gold coins, Sanātana offered them to the hotel owner. Thus the owner helped them cross the hilly tract and proceed toward Vārāṇasī.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 20
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. kṛṣṇa-śaktithe energy of Lord Kṛṣṇa
  2. dharapossess
  3. tumiyou
  4. jānaknow
  5. tattva-bhāvathe factual position
  6. jāni’although knowing all these things
  7. dārḍhya lāgi’for the sake of strictness
  8. puchehe inquires
  9. sādhuraof a saintly person
  10. svabhāvathe nature
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I willing to inquire carefully even about something I think I know?

Practice

Choose one spiritual teaching you think you understand and write a question that would help clarify it.

4

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

4 lectures given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Show 2 more lectures on it
Live this todayA Sādhu Inquires Even When He KnowsThis 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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