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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 20.271

মায়ার যে দুই বৃত্তি — ‘মায়া’ আর ‘প্রধান’ ।

‘মায়া’ নিমিত্তহেতু, বিশ্বের উপাদান ‘প্রধান’ ॥ ২৭১ ॥

māyāra ye dui vṛtti — ‘māyā’ āra ‘pradhāna’

‘māyā’ nimitta-hetu, viśvera upādāna ‘pradhāna’

Translation

“Māyā has two functions. One is called māyā, and the other is called pradhāna. Māyā refers to the efficient cause, and pradhāna refers to the ingredients that create the cosmic manifestation.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Material Energy Has Two Functions

  1. 1

    Māyā has two functions, called māyā and pradhāna.

  2. 2

    Māyā refers to the efficient cause of the cosmic manifestation.

  3. 3

    Pradhāna refers to the ingredients that create the cosmic manifestation.

Key points from the purport
  • For a further explanation, see Ādi-līlā, chapter five, verse 58.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

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:

Caitanya Mahāprabhu called him in and ordered him to change his dress so that he would look like a gentleman. For his garment, he used an old cloth of Tapana Miśra’s.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 20
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. māyāraof the material nature
  2. yewhich
  3. duitwo
  4. vṛttifunctions
  5. māyācalled māyā
  6. āraand
  7. pradhānaingredients
  8. māyāthe word māyā
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Can you distinguish the efficient cause from the ingredients of the cosmic manifestation?

Practice

Write two short definitions today: māyā as the efficient cause, and pradhāna as the ingredients.

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 Has Two FunctionsThis 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 20.271? Get an answer from the verses themselves.