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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 20.354
অবতার নাহি কহে — ‘আমি অবতার’ ।
মুনি সব জানি’ করে লক্ষণ-বিচার ॥ ৩৫৪ ॥
avatāra nāhi kahe — ‘āmi avatāra’
muni saba jāni’ kare lakṣaṇa-vicāra
“An actual incarnation of God never says ‘I am God’ or ‘I am an incarnation of God.’ The great sage Vyāsadeva, knowing all, has already recorded the characteristics of the avatāras in the śāstras.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioThree study points drawn from the translation and purport.
A real incarnation of God never claims, “I am God” or “I am an incarnation of God.”
Vyāsadeva has already recorded the characteristics of the avatāras in the śāstras.
By the symptoms described in scripture, one can understand who is an avatāra and who is not.
Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.
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.
Why is a person’s claim to be God insufficient evidence?
Write a brief reminder: “Recognize an avatāra by scriptural characteristics, not self-proclamation.”
His recorded lectures on this verse, and the talks where he quotes it.
2 lectures 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 20.354? Get an answer from the verses themselves.