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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 20.173

অন্যে চ সংস্কৃতাত্মানো বিধিনাভিহিতেন তে ।

যজন্তি ত্বন্ময়াস্ত্বাং বৈ বহুমূর্ত্যেকমূর্তিকম্‌ ॥ ১৭৩ ॥

anye ca saṁskṛtātmāno

vidhinābhihitena te

yajanti tvan-mayās tvāṁ vai

bahu-mūrty eka-mūrtikam

Translation

“ ‘In different Vedic scriptures, there are prescribed rules and regulative principles for worshiping different types of forms. When one is purified by these rules and regulations, he worships You, the Supreme Personality of Godhead. Although manifested in many forms, You are one.’

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

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Worshiping the One Lord in Many Forms

  1. 1

    Different Vedic scriptures prescribe rules and regulative principles for worshiping different forms. Purified by these rules, one worships the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

  2. 2

    Although manifested in many forms, the Supreme Personality of Godhead is one. The Vedas state that the one becomes many: eko bahu syām.

  3. 3

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead expands Himself in various forms: viṣṇu-tattva, jīva-tattva and śakti-tattva.

Key points from the purport
  • In the Vedas it is stated that the one becomes many (eko bahu syām).
  • The Supreme Personality of Godhead expands Himself in various forms — viṣṇu-tattva, jīva-tattva and śakti-tattva.

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· 1

The purport of CC Madhya 20.173 quotesSB 10.40.7

This verse is quoted from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.40.7).

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:

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. anyedifferent persons
  2. caalso
  3. saṁskṛta-ātmānaḥpersons who are purified
  4. vidhināby the regulative principles
  5. abhihitenastated in the revealed scriptures
  6. tesuch persons
  7. yajantiworship
  8. tvat-mayāḥbeing absorbed in You
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does understanding the purpose of prescribed rules affect your attitude toward worship?

Practice

Reread the translation and write down the purpose it gives for following the prescribed rules of worship.

4

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 todayWorshiping the One Lord in Many FormsThis 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 20.173? Get an answer from the verses themselves.