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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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Madhya-līlā · 25 chapters

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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 20.331Madhya 20.333

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.332

কৃতে শুক্লশ্চতুর্বাহুর্জটিলো বল্কলাম্বরঃ ।

কৃষ্ণাজিনোপবীতাক্ষান্‌ বিভ্রদ্‌দণ্ডকমণ্ডলূ ॥ ৩৩২ ॥

kṛte śuklaś catur-bāhur

jaṭilo valkalāmbaraḥ

kṛṣṇājinopavītākṣān

bibhrad daṇḍa-kamaṇḍalū

Translation

“ ‘In Satya-yuga the Lord appeared in a body colored white, with four arms and matted hair. He wore tree bark and bore a black antelope skin. He wore a sacred thread and a garland of rudrākṣa beads. He carried a rod and a waterpot, and He was a brahmacārī.’

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.

The Lord’s Appearance in Satya-yuga

  1. 1

    In Satya-yuga, the Lord appeared with a white body, four arms and matted hair.

  2. 2

    He wore tree bark, a black antelope skin, a sacred thread and a garland of rudrākṣa beads.

  3. 3

    He carried a rod and a waterpot, and He was a brahmacārī.

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. kṛtein Satya-yuga
  2. śuklaḥhaving a white color and bearing the name Śukla
  3. catuḥ-bāhuḥhaving four arms
  4. jaṭilaḥwith a bunch of hair
  5. valkala-ambaraḥwearing a garment made of tree bark
  6. kṛṣṇa-ajinablack-colored antelope skin
  7. upavītasacred thread
  8. akṣāna garland of beads for chanting
  9. bibhratcarried
  10. daṇḍa-kamaṇḍalūa rod and waterpot
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Which details of the Lord’s Satya-yuga appearance stand out to you?

Practice

Read the description once, then recall three details of the Lord’s appearance.

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 todayThe Lord’s Appearance in Satya-yugaThis 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.

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