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Study a Verse

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 20.336Madhya 20.338

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.337

দ্বাপরে ভগবান্‌ শ্যামঃ পীতবাসা নিজায়ুধঃ ।

শ্রীবৎসাদিভিরঙ্কৈশ্চ লক্ষণৈরুপলক্ষিতঃ ॥ ৩৩৭ ॥

dvāpare bhagavān śyāmaḥ

pīta-vāsā nijāyudhaḥ

śrī-vatsādibhir aṅkaiś ca

lakṣaṇair upalakṣitaḥ

Translation

“ ‘In Dvāpara-yuga the Personality of Godhead appears in a blackish hue. He is dressed in yellow, He holds His own weapons, and He is decorated with the Kaustubha jewel and the mark of Śrīvatsa. That is how His symptoms are described.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Recognizing the Lord’s Described Appearance

  1. 1

    The Lord is described as dressed in yellow, holding His own weapons, and decorated with the Kaustubha jewel and the mark of Śrīvatsa.

  2. 2

    The śyāma color is not exactly blackish. Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura compares it to the color of the atasī flower.

  3. 3

    Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself does not appear in a blackish color in every Dvāpara-yuga. In earlier Dvāpara-yugas, the Supreme Lord appeared in a greenish body through His own personal expansion.

Key points from the purport
  • Śrīla Bhaktisiddhānta Sarasvatī Ṭhākura compares it to the color of the atasī flower.
  • It is not that Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself appears in a blackish color in all the Dvāpara-yugas.
  • In other Dvāpara-yugas, previous to Lord Kṛṣṇa’s appearance, the Supreme Lord appeared in a greenish body by His own personal expansion.

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of CC Madhya 20.337 quotesSB 11.5.27

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (11.5.27).

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

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
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. dvāparein Dvāpara-yuga
  2. bhagavānthe Supreme Personality of Godhead
  3. śyāmaḥblackish
  4. pīta-vāsāḥhaving yellow clothes
  5. nijaown
  6. āyudhaḥhaving weapons
  7. śrī-vatsa-ādibhiḥsuch as Śrīvatsa
  8. aṅkaiḥby bodily markings
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does the purport help you understand the description of the Lord’s color more carefully?

Practice

Reread the description and recall three features of the Lord’s appearance.

4

Śrīla Prabhupāda speaks

His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.

2 lectures given on it. Recordings and transcripts on prabhupada.io.

Live this todayRecognizing the Lord’s Described AppearanceThis 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 20.337? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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