1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by līlā and chapter

Madhya-līlā · 25 chapters

12345678910111213141516171819202122232425
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 20.321Madhya 20.323

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.322

শতেক বৎসর হয় ‘জীবন’ ব্রহ্মার ।

পঞ্চলক্ষ চারিসহস্র মন্বন্তরাবতার ॥ ৩২২ ॥

śateka vatsara haya ‘jīvana’ brahmāra

pañca-lakṣa cāri-sahasra manvantarāvatāra

Translation

“During the hundred years of Brahmā’s life, there are 504,000 manvantara-avatāras.

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.

Incarnations Throughout Brahmā’s Hundred Years

  1. 1

    Brahmā’s life lasts one hundred years.

  2. 2

    During that lifetime, there are 504,000 manvantara-avatāras.

  3. 3

    This total describes the manvantara-avatāras across Brahmā’s whole life.

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. śateka vatsara hayathere are one hundred years
  2. jīvanathe duration of life
  3. brahmāraof Brahmā
  4. pañca-lakṣa500,000
  5. cāri-sahasra4,000
  6. manu-antara-avatāraincarnations who appear during the reign of each Manu
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does considering Brahmā’s whole lifetime broaden your sense of the number of these incarnations?

Practice

Write one sentence connecting Brahmā’s hundred-year life with the total of 504,000 manvantara-avatāras.

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 todayIncarnations Throughout Brahmā’s Hundred YearsThis 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 20.322? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
  1. Learn
  2. Live
  3. Lead
Next in Learn · 5 of 9 · 2 minAsk Caitanya CaritamrtaBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the book's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnLīlās & chapters