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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 20.354Madhya 20.356

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.355

যস্যাবতারা জ্ঞায়ন্তে শরীরেষ্বশরীরিণঃ ।

তৈস্তৈরতুল্যাতিশয়ৈর্বীর্যৈর্দেহিষ্বসঙ্গতৈঃ ॥ ৩৫৫ ॥

yasyāvatārā jñāyante

śarīreṣv aśarīriṇaḥ

tais tair atulyātiśayair

vīryair dehiṣv asaṅgataiḥ

Translation

“ ‘The Lord does not have a material body, yet He descends among human beings in His transcendental body as an incarnation. Therefore it is very difficult for us to understand who is an incarnation. Only by His extraordinary prowess and uncommon activities, which are impossible for embodied living entities, can one partially understand the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord Descends in a Transcendental Body

  1. 1

    The Lord does not have a material body. He descends among human beings in His transcendental body.

  2. 2

    It is very difficult for us to understand who is an incarnation.

  3. 3

    His extraordinary prowess and uncommon activities are impossible for embodied living entities. Through these, one can partially understand the incarnation of the Supreme Personality of Godhead.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of CC Madhya 20.355 quotesSB 10.10.34-35

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (10.10.34).

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
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. yasyawhose
  2. avatārāḥincarnations
  3. jñāyantecan be known
  4. śarīriṣuamong the living entities
  5. aśarīriṇaḥof the Lord, who has no material body
  6. taiḥ taiḥall those
  7. atulyaincomparable
  8. atiśayaiḥextraordinary
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does this teaching remind me of the limits of my understanding of the Lord?

Practice

Reread the translation and note the distinction between the Lord’s transcendental body and a material body.

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 Descends in a Transcendental BodyThis 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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