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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 20.130Madhya 20.132

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.131

‘বাপের ধন আছে’ — জ্ঞানে ধন নাহি পায় ।

তবে সর্বজ্ঞ কহে তারে প্রাপ্তির উপায় ॥ ১৩১ ॥

‘bāpera dhana āche’ — jñāne dhana nāhi pāya

tabe sarvajña kahe tāre prāptira upāya

Translation

“Although being assured of his father’s treasure, the poor man cannot acquire this treasure by such knowledge alone. Therefore the astrologer had to inform him of the means whereby he could actually find the treasure.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Knowing Requires a Means of Attainment

  1. 1

    The poor man was assured that his father’s treasure existed.

  2. 2

    Knowing about the treasure alone could not enable him to acquire it.

  3. 3

    The astrologer therefore had to explain the means by which the man could actually find the treasure.

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:

At this time Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very pleased with him, and thus Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī received knowledge of the Absolute Truth from the Lord Himself. 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.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 20
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. bāpera dhana āchethe father has some treasure
  2. jñāneby this knowledge
  3. dhanatreasure
  4. nāhi pāyaone does not get
  5. tabethen
  6. sarva-jñathe astrologer
  7. kahesays
  8. tāreunto the poor man
  9. prāptira upāyathe means of getting the treasure
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Where am I treating knowledge as enough without learning how to act on it?

Practice

Choose one teaching you have studied and identify a concrete way to put it into practice today.

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 todayKnowing Requires a Means of AttainmentThis 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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