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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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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 20.248Madhya 20.250

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.249

অবতারা হ্যসংখ্যেয়া হরেঃ সত্ত্বনিধের্দ্বিজাঃ ।

যথাঽবিদাসিনঃ কুল্যাঃ সরসঃ স্যুঃ সহস্রশঃ ॥ ২৪৯ ॥

avatārā hy asaṅkhyeyā

hareḥ sattva-nidher dvijāḥ

yathā ’vidāsinaḥ kulyāḥ

sarasaḥ syuḥ sahasraśaḥ

Translation

“ ‘O learned brāhmaṇas, just as hundreds and thousands of small rivulets issue from great reservoirs of water, innumerable incarnations flow from Śrī Hari, the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the reservoir of all power.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Innumerable Incarnations Flow from Śrī Hari

  1. 1

    Śrī Hari is the Supreme Personality of Godhead and the reservoir of all power.

  2. 2

    Innumerable incarnations flow from Him. They are compared to hundreds and thousands of small rivulets issuing from great reservoirs of water.

  3. 3

    The purport identifies this teaching as a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of CC Madhya 20.249 quotesSB 1.3.26

This verse is quoted from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.3.26).

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
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. avatārāḥall the incarnations
  2. hicertainly
  3. asaṅkhyeyāḥbeyond counting
  4. hareḥfrom the Supreme Personality of Godhead
  5. sattva-nidheḥwho is the reservoir of spiritual energy
  6. dvijāḥO brāhmaṇas
  7. yathāas
  8. avidāsinaḥcontaining a great reservoir of water
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Nāma-saṅkīrtana · The holy name shared together

    Chanting the holy names as the yuga-dharma, the Lord’s public movement, and the opening prayer of Śikṣāṣṭaka. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “hari”

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

What does the image of a great reservoir help you appreciate about Śrī Hari?

Practice

Read the translation aloud once, giving special attention to the words “reservoir of all power.”

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 todayInnumerable Incarnations Flow from Śrī HariThis 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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