1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min
Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.
Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.311
‘শিব’ — মায়াশক্তিসঙ্গী, তমোগুণাবেশ ।
মায়াতীত, গুণাতীত ‘বিষ্ণু’ — পরমেশ ॥ ৩১১ ॥
‘śiva’ — māyā-śakti-saṅgī, tamo-guṇāveśa
māyātīta, guṇātīta ‘viṣṇu’ — parameśa
“Lord Śiva is an associate of the external energy; therefore he is absorbed in the material quality of darkness. Lord Viṣṇu is transcendental to māyā and the qualities of māyā. Therefore He is the Supreme Personality of Godhead.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioThree study points drawn from the translation and purport.
Lord Viṣṇu is beyond the material manifestation and is not controlled by the material energy. He is the supreme independent Personality of Godhead.
In his constitutional form, Lord Śiva is a mahā-bhāgavata, a supreme devotee of the Lord. Yet he accepts māyā’s association, especially the quality of ignorance.
This intimate association with māyā is completely absent in Lord Viṣṇu. When free from māyā’s influence, Lord Śiva is situated as a supreme devotee of Lord Viṣṇu.
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:
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
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: “associate”, “association”
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 this distinction help me honor Lord Śiva while understanding Lord Viṣṇu’s supreme independence?
Write one sentence distinguishing Lord Śiva’s association with māyā from Lord Viṣṇu’s freedom from its control.
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 20.311? Get an answer from the verses themselves.