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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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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 20.253Madhya 20.255

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.254

ইচ্ছা-জ্ঞান-ক্রিয়া বিনা না হয় সৃজন ।

তিনের তিনশক্তি মেলি’ প্রপঞ্চ-রচন ॥ ২৫৪ ॥

icchā-jñāna-kriyā vinā nā haya sṛjana

tinera tina-śakti meli’ prapañca-racana

Translation

“There is no possibility of creation without thinking, feeling, willing, knowledge and activity. The combination of the supreme will, knowledge and action brings about the cosmic manifestation.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Creation Depends on Supreme Will, Knowledge and Action

  1. 1

    Creation is not possible without thinking, feeling and willing.

  2. 2

    Knowledge and activity are also necessary for creation.

  3. 3

    The combination of the supreme will, knowledge and action brings about the cosmic manifestation.

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:

At this time Caitanya Mahāprabhu was very pleased with him, and thus Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī received knowledge of the Absolute Truth from the Lord Himself. 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.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 20
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. icchā-jñāna-kriyāthinking, feeling, willing, knowledge and activity
  2. vināwithout
  3. nānot
  4. hayathere is
  5. sṛjanacreation
  6. tineraof the three
  7. tina-śaktithree potencies
  8. meli’being amalgamated
  9. prapañca-racanathere is the cosmic manifestation
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does this teaching shape your understanding of what brings creation into being?

Practice

Write down the three things whose combination brings about the cosmic manifestation: supreme will, knowledge and action.

4

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 todayCreation Depends on Supreme Will, Knowledge and ActionThis 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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