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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 20.309
দুগ্ধ যেন অম্লযোগে দধিরূপ ধরে ।
দুগ্ধান্তর বস্তু নহে, দুগ্ধ হৈতে নারে ॥ ৩০৯ ॥
dugdha yena amla-yoge dadhi-rūpa dhare
dugdhāntara vastu nahe, dugdha haite nāre
“Milk is transformed into yogurt when it associates with a yogurt culture. Thus yogurt is nothing but milk, but still it is not milk.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioThree study points drawn from the translation and purport.
Lord Viṣṇu is never separate from the original Viṣṇu and cannot be transformed into material energy. Lord Śiva and Brahmā differ from Viṣṇu through their association with māyā.
Lord Śiva and Lord Brahmā are called guṇa-avatāras because they associate with the material qualities. Rudra is a transformation of Viṣṇu and does not belong to the category of viṣṇu-tattvas.
Milk becomes yogurt through contact with a sour substance. Similarly, Rudra is inconceivably one with Viṣṇu and different from Him: yogurt is constitutionally milk, but cannot be used in place of milk.
Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.
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:
After this, the Lord explained the way of devotional service. While discussing the Absolute Truth, Śrī Kṛṣṇa, the Lord analyzed Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān, as well as the expansions of the Lord called svayaṁ-rūpa, tad-ekātma and āveśa, which are divided into various branches known as vaibhava and prābhava.Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 20
Learn the words of the verse.
The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.
Sādhu-saṅga · Love grows through association
Spiritual association shapes the movement, empowers disciples, and reveals truths through loving conversations. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “associates”, “association”, “associate”
Kṛpā & transformation · Mercy changes a life
Transformative encounters with grace, from scholars and travelers to renunciants and householders. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “transformed”
Concept links are an editorial study map; only the verse is the text itself.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
How does the milk-and-yogurt example clarify why Rudra and Viṣṇu are not interchangeable?
Explain the milk-and-yogurt comparison in two written sentences, including both the sameness and the difference.
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.
Ask Caitanya CaritamrtaHave a question about CC Madhya 20.309? Get an answer from the verses themselves.