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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

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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 20.161Madhya 20.163

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.162

কৃষ্ণমেনমবেহি ত্বমাত্মানমখিলাত্মনাম্ ।

জগদ্ধিতায় সোঽপ্যত্র দেহীবাভাতি মায়য়া ॥ ১৬২ ॥

kṛṣṇam enam avehi tvam

ātmānam akhilātmanām

jagad-dhitāya so ’py atra

dehīvābhāti māyayā

Translation

“ ‘You should know Kṛṣṇa to be the original soul of all ātmās [living entities]. For the benefit of the whole universe, He has, out of His causeless mercy, appeared as an ordinary human being. He has done this by the strength of His own internal potency.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Redirect Your Attraction to Kṛṣṇa

  1. 1

    Kṛṣṇa is the original soul of all living entities. Out of causeless mercy, He appears as an ordinary human being through His internal potency for the benefit of the whole universe.

  2. 2

    The soul is part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, and therefore Kṛṣṇa is very dear to every living entity. The body is dear because the soul lives within it.

  3. 3

    Forgetting his constitutional position, the soul thinks he is only the body and becomes subject to material nature. By reawakening attraction for Kṛṣṇa, one understands oneself as His part and parcel and becomes free from bodily attachment.

Key points from the purport
  • At that time Śukadeva Gosvāmī replied that everyone’s ātmā, or soul, is very, very dear, especially to all living entities who have accepted material bodies.
  • Everyone’s body is very dear to oneself, and one wants to protect the body by all means because within the body the soul is living.
  • Similarly, the soul, being part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa, the Supreme Lord, is very, very dear to all living entities.

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· 2

The purport of CC Madhya 20.162 quotesSB 10.14.55

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.14.55).

The purport of CC Madhya 20.162 quotesSB 1.2.7

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.2.7) states:

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:

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. kṛṣṇamin the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  2. enamthis
  3. avehijust try to understand
  4. tvamyou
  5. ātmānamthe soul
  6. akhila-ātmanāmof all living entities
  7. jagat-hitāyathe benefit of the whole universe
  8. saḥHe
3

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”

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

Where do you notice the thought “I am the body, and this belongs to me” shaping your attachments?

Practice

When one bodily concern arises today, pause and remember: “I am not the body; I am part and parcel of Kṛṣṇa.” Turn your attention toward Him.

5

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 todayRedirect Your Attraction to KṛṣṇaThis 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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