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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 20.145

ব্যামোহায় চরাচরস্য জগতস্তে তে পুরাণাগমা-

স্তাং তামেব হি দেবতাং পরমিকাং জল্পন্তু কল্পাবধি ।

সিদ্ধান্তে পুনরেক এব ভগবান্ বিষ্ণুঃ সমস্তাগম-

ব্যাপারেষু বিবেচনব্যতিকরং নীতেষু নিশ্চীয়তে ॥ ১৪৫ ॥

vyāmohāya carācarasya jagatas te te purāṇāgamās

tāṁ tām eva hi devatāṁ paramikāṁ jalpantu kalpāvadhi

siddhānte punar eka eva bhagavān viṣṇuḥ samastāgama-

vyāpāreṣu vivecana-vyatikaraṁ nīteṣu niścīyate

Translation

“ ‘There are many types of Vedic literatures and supplementary Purāṇas. In each of them there are particular demigods who are spoken of as the chief demigods. This is just to create an illusion for moving and nonmoving living entities. Let them perpetually engage in such imaginations. However, when one analytically studies all these Vedic literatures collectively, he comes to the conclusion that Lord Viṣṇu is the one and only Supreme Personality of Godhead.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
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Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Collective Study Reveals Lord Viṣṇu’s Supremacy

  1. 1

    This quotation comes from the Padma Purāṇa. It describes many Vedic literatures and supplementary Purāṇas that present particular demigods as chief.

  2. 2

    Such presentations create illusion for moving and nonmoving living entities, who remain engaged in these imaginations.

  3. 3

    Analytical study of all these Vedic literatures together leads to the conclusion that Lord Viṣṇu is the one and only Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Key points from the purport
  • This is a verse from the Padma Purāṇa.

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:

Thus the Lord described the many forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. He also described the incarnations of God within the material world, incarnations such as the puruṣa-avatāras, manvantara-avatāras, guṇa-avatāras and śaktyāveśa-avatāras.
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. vyāmohāyato increase the illusion and ignorance
  2. cara-acarasyaof all living entities, moving and nonmoving
  3. jagataḥof the world
  4. te tethose respective
  5. purāṇathe supplementary Vedic literatures called the Purāṇas
  6. āgamāḥand Vedas
  7. tām tāmthat respective
  8. eva hicertainly
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Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Kīrtana community · A movement of shared hearts

    Devotional community as a living network of branches, service, festivals, care, and collective chanting. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “together”

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

Why is studying the Vedic literatures collectively important for understanding their conclusion?

Practice

Read the translation again and distinguish its descriptions of particular demigods from its final conclusion about Lord Viṣṇu.

5

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

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

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

Live this todayCollective Study Reveals Lord Viṣṇu’s SupremacyThis 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 20.145? Get an answer from the verses themselves.