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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 20: Lord Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu Instructs Sanātana Gosvāmī in the Science of the Absolute Truth
Madhya 20.113Madhya 20.115

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.114

যয়া ক্ষেত্রজ্ঞশক্তিঃ সা বেষ্টিতা নৃপ সর্বগা ।

সংসারতাপানখিলানবাপ্নোত্যত্র সন্ততান্ ॥ ১১৪ ॥

yayā kṣetra-jña-śaktiḥ sā

veṣṭitā nṛpa sarva-gā

saṁsāra-tāpān akhilān

avāpnoty atra santatān

Translation

“ ‘O King, the kṣetra-jña-śakti is the living entity. Although he has the facility to live in either the material or the spiritual world, he suffers the threefold miseries of material existence because he is influenced by the avidyā [nescience] potency, which covers his constitutional position.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Ignorance Covers the Living Entity’s Constitutional Position

  1. 1

    The kṣetra-jña-śakti is the living entity, who has the facility to live in either the material or the spiritual world.

  2. 2

    The avidyā, or nescience, potency covers the living entity’s constitutional position.

  3. 3

    Under this influence, the living entity suffers the threefold miseries of material existence.

Key points from the purport
  • This and the following verse are also quoted from the Viṣṇu Purāṇa (6.7.62-63).
  • For an explanation, see Madhya-līlā, chapter 6, verses 155-156.

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

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:

First they discussed the constitutional position of the living entities, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu explained to Sanātana Gosvāmī how the living entity is one of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s energies. After this, the Lord explained the way of devotional service.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 20
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. yayāby which
  2. kṣetra-jña-śaktiḥthe living entities, known as the kṣetra-jña potency
  3. sāthat potency
  4. veṣṭitācovered
  5. nṛpaO King
  6. sarva-gācapable of going anywhere in the spiritual or the material world
  7. saṁsāra-tāpānmiseries due to the cycle of repeated birth and death
  8. akhilānall kinds of
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does this verse suggest about the connection between ignorance of your constitutional position and material suffering?

Practice

Spend a minute today reflecting on the distinction between the living entity’s constitutional position and the ignorance that covers it.

4

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

1 lecture given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Live this todayIgnorance Covers the Living Entity’s Constitutional PositionThis 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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