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Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.
Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.169
সৌভর্যাদি-প্রায় সেই কায়ব্যূহ নয় ।
কায়ব্যূহ হৈলে নারদের বিস্ময় না হয় ॥ ১৬৯ ॥
saubhary-ādi-prāya sei kāya-vyūha naya
kāya-vyūha haile nāradera vismaya nā haya
“The prābhava-prakāśa expansions of Lord Kṛṣṇa are not like the expansions of the sage Saubhari. Had they been so, Nārada would not have been astonished to see them.
Read this verse on Vedabase.ioThis verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.
Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.
Lord Kṛṣṇa’s prābhava-prakāśa expansions are not like the expansions of the sage Saubhari.
Nārada was astonished to see Kṛṣṇa’s expansions.
Had Kṛṣṇa’s expansions been like Saubhari’s, Nārada would not have been astonished.
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
From Śrīla Prabhupāda's chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:
While discussing the Absolute Truth, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Lord analyzed Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān, as well as the expansions of the Lord called svayaṁ-rūpa, tad-ekātma and āveśa, which are divided into various branches known as vaibhava and prābhava. Thus the Lord described the many forms of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 20
Learn the words of the verse.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
What does Nārada’s astonishment help you appreciate about Kṛṣṇa’s expansions?
Pause over Nārada’s astonishment and write one sentence about the distinction this verse makes.
His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.
1 lecture given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.
Study points are short summaries, not the translation. Confirm them in the original text and purport on Vedabase.
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