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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 20.264
মায়াতীত পরব্যোমে সবার অবস্থান ।
বিশ্বে অবতরি’ ধরে ‘অবতার’ নাম ॥ ২৬৪ ॥
māyātīta paravyome sabāra avasthāna
viśve avatari’ dhare ‘avatāra’ nāma
“All the expansions of Lord Kṛṣṇa are actually residents of the spiritual world. But when they descend into the material world, they are called incarnations [avatāras].
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.
All the expansions of Lord Kṛṣṇa are actually residents of the spiritual world.
These expansions descend into the material world.
When they descend, they are called incarnations, or avatāras.
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:
He also described the incarnations of God within the material world, incarnations such as the puruṣa-avatāras, manvantara-avatāras, guṇa-avatāras and śaktyāveśa-avatāras. The Lord also discussed the divisions of Kṛṣṇa’s different ages, such as bālya and paugaṇḍa, and the different pastimes of the different ages.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 this verse help you understand about the original residence of Lord Kṛṣṇa’s incarnations?
Read the translation aloud once, noting where the expansions reside and when they are called incarnations.
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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