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Study a Verse

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

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 ›

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.122

মায়ামুগ্ধ জীবের নাহি স্বতঃ কৃষ্ণজ্ঞান ।

জীবেরে কৃপায় কৈলা কৃষ্ণ বেদ-পুরাণ ॥ ১২২ ॥

māyā-mugdha jīvera nāhi svataḥ kṛṣṇa-jñāna

jīvere kṛpāya kailā kṛṣṇa veda-purāṇa

Translation

“The conditioned soul cannot revive his Kṛṣṇa consciousness by his own effort. But out of causeless mercy, Lord Kṛṣṇa compiled the Vedic literature and its supplements, the Purāṇas.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Scripture Is Kṛṣṇa’s Causeless Mercy

  1. 1

    The conditioned soul is bewildered by māyā, which keeps him forgetful of his real relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

  2. 2

    He forgets his identity as spirit soul, Brahman, and thinks himself a product of material energy.

  3. 3

    He cannot revive Kṛṣṇa consciousness by his own effort. Out of causeless mercy, Kṛṣṇa compiled the Vedic literature and its supplements, the Purāṇas.

Key points from the purport
  • A conditioned soul is bewildered by the Lord’s illusory energy (māyā).
  • Māyā’s business is to keep the conditioned soul forgetful of his real relationship with Kṛṣṇa.
  • Thus the living entity forgets his real identity as spirit soul, Brahman, and instead of realizing his factual position thinks himself the product of the material energy.

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· 3

The purport of CC Madhya 20.122 quotesSB 1.7.5

According to Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.7.5):

Quoted in the purport ofSB 2.3.1

In the Caitanya-caritāmṛta (Madhya 20.122-123) it is said that Lord Kṛṣṇa, out of His causeless mercy, prepared the Vedic literatures in the incarnation of Vyāsadeva for reading by the intelligent class of men in a human society which is almost totally forgetful of the genuine relation with Kṛṣṇa.

Quoted in the purport ofSB 4.26.8

Due to such circumstances, Kṛṣṇa has kindly given him the Vedic literatures, such as the four Vedas and eighteen Purāṇas.”

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

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:

The hotel owner knew that Sanātana Gosvāmī and his servant had eight gold coins, and he decided to kill them and take the money. Making plans in this way, the hotel owner received them as honorable guests.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 20
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. māyā-mugdhaenchanted by the illusory energy
  2. jīveraof the conditioned soul
  3. nāhithere is not
  4. svataḥautomatically
  5. kṛṣṇa-jñānaknowledge of Kṛṣṇa
  6. jīvereunto the conditioned soul
  7. kṛpāyaout of mercy
  8. kailāpresented
  9. kṛṣṇaLord Kṛṣṇa
  10. veda-purāṇathe Vedic literature and the Purāṇas (supplements to the Vedic literature)
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Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Kṛpā & transformation · Mercy changes a life

    Transformative encounters with grace, from scholars and travelers to renunciants and householders. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “mercy”

  • Bhāva & rasa · The language of sacred feeling

    Transcendental devotional moods and relationships, discussed explicitly in Rāmānanda’s dialogue and the teachings on prema. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “relationship”

Concept links are an editorial study map; only the verse is the text itself.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might seeing scripture as Kṛṣṇa’s mercy change the way I read it?

Practice

Reread this translation slowly, with gratitude for Kṛṣṇa’s gift of Vedic literature.

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Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

1 lecture given on it · quoted in 6 more lectures. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Quoted in 6 other 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 todayScripture Is Kṛṣṇa’s Causeless MercyThis 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 20.122? Get an answer from the verses themselves.