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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 20.348
পূর্ববৎ লিখি যবে গুণাবতারগণ ।
অসংখ্য সংখ্যা তাঁর, না হয় গণন ॥ ৩৪৮ ॥
pūrvavat likhi yabe guṇāvatāra-gaṇa
asaṅkhya saṅkhyā tāṅra, nā haya gaṇana
“As stated before when I described the incarnations of the material modes [guṇa-avatāras], one should consider that these incarnations also are unlimited and that no one can count them.
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.
The teaching recalls the earlier description of the incarnations of the material modes, called guṇa-avatāras.
One should understand that these incarnations also are unlimited.
No one can count them.
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 does the unlimited nature of these incarnations affect your sense of what you can comprehend?
Pause today over the words “no one can count them,” and reflect on their meaning.
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 20.348? Get an answer from the verses themselves.