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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 20.268Madhya 20.270

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.269

কারণাব্ধি-পারে মায়ার নিত্য অবস্থিতি ।

বিরজার পারে পরব্যোমে নাহি গতি ॥ ২৬৯ ॥

kāraṇābdhi-pāre māyāra nitya avasthiti

virajāra pāre paravyome nāhi gati

Translation

“The Virajā, or Causal Ocean, is the border between the spiritual and the material world. The material energy is situated on one shore of that ocean, and it cannot enter onto the other shore, which is the spiritual sky.

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.

Material Energy Cannot Enter the Spiritual Sky

  1. 1

    The Virajā, also called the Causal Ocean, is the border between the spiritual and the material world.

  2. 2

    The material energy is situated on one shore of that ocean.

  3. 3

    The other shore is the spiritual sky. The material energy cannot enter there.

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:

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
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. kāraṇa-abdhi-pāreon one bank of the Causal Ocean
  2. māyāraof the material energy
  3. nityaeternal
  4. avasthitiposition
  5. virajāra pāreon the other bank of the Virajā, or the Causal Ocean
  6. para-vyomein the spiritual world or sky
  7. nāhithere is not
  8. gatiadmission
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What distinction between the material world and the spiritual sky stands out to you here?

Practice

Draw a simple diagram of the Causal Ocean with two shores, labeling the material energy on one and the spiritual sky on the other.

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 todayMaterial Energy Cannot Enter the Spiritual SkyThis 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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