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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 20.324
মহাবিষ্ণুর নিশ্বাসের নাহিক পর্যন্ত ।
এক মন্বন্তরাবতারের দেখ লেখার অন্ত ॥ ৩২৪ ॥
mahā-viṣṇura niśvāsera nāhika paryanta
eka manvantarāvatārera dekha lekhāra anta
“There is no limit to the exhalations of Mahā-Viṣṇu. Just see how impossible it is to speak or write of only the manvantara-avatāras!
Read this verse on Vedabase.ioThis verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.
Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.
There is no limit to the exhalations of Mahā-Viṣṇu.
It is impossible to speak or write fully of even the manvantara-avatāras alone.
The invitation is to recognize how impossible such a complete description would be.
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:
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
Learn the words of the verse.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
How can you remain eager to learn while accepting that a complete description is impossible?
Read the translation aloud once, then pause to acknowledge the limits of what can be spoken or written.
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 20.324? Get an answer from the verses themselves.