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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 20.273Madhya 20.275

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.274

দৈবাৎ ক্ষুভিতধর্মিণ্যাং স্বস্যাং যোনৌ পরঃ পুমান্‌ ।

আধত্ত বীর্যং সাহসূত মঽত্তত্ত্বং হিরণ্ময়ম্‌ ॥ ২৭৪ ॥

daivāt kṣubhita-dharmiṇyāṁ

svasyāṁ yonau paraḥ pumān

ādhatta vīryaṁ sāsūta

mahat-tattvaṁ hiraṇmayam

Translation

“ ‘At a time beyond memory, after agitating the material nature into three qualities, the Supreme Personality of Godhead placed the semen of innumerable living entities within the womb of that material nature. Thus material nature gave birth to the total material energy, known as the hiraṇmaya-mahat-tattva, the original symbolic representation of the cosmic manifestation.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Life Comes From the Supreme Lord

  1. 1

    The Lord agitated material nature into three qualities and placed innumerable living entities within her womb. Material nature then gave birth to the total material energy, the hiraṇmaya-mahat-tattva.

  2. 2

    Lord Kapila explains that the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original cause of living entities conditioned by material nature.

  3. 3

    The Supreme Lord stands above the twenty-eight elements of material creation as the cause of all causes. Life comes not from matter but from life itself, and He is its original source.

Key points from the purport
  • Lord Kapila is explaining to His mother the relationship between the Supreme Personality of Godhead and material nature.
  • He is informing her how the Supreme Personality of Godhead is the original cause of the living entities who are conditioned by material nature.
  • Over and above the twenty-eight elements of the material creation is the Supreme Personality of Godhead, the cause of all causes.

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

Connected verses· 1

The purport of CC Madhya 20.274 quotesSB 3.26.19

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (3.26.19).

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. daivātat a time beyond memory
  2. kṣubhita-dharmiṇyāmthe material nature, which is subjected to agitation
  3. svasyāmwhich belongs to the Supreme as one of His energies
  4. yonauin the womb from which the living entity takes his birth
  5. paraḥ pumānthe Supreme Brahman, the Personality of Godhead
  6. ādhattaimpregnated
  7. vīryamsemen
  8. sāthat material nature
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does seeing the Supreme Lord as the original source of life shape your understanding of living beings?

Practice

Write and reflect on this teaching today: “The Supreme Lord is the original source of life.”

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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 todayLife Comes From the Supreme LordThis 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 20.274? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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