1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by līlā and chapter

Madhya-līlā · 25 chapters

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 ›

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 20.372

শেষে ‘স্ব-সেবন’-শক্তি, পৃথুতে ‘পালন’ ।

পরশুরামে ‘দুষ্টনাশক-বীর্যসঞ্চারণ’ ॥ ৩৭২ ॥

śeṣe ‘sva-sevana’-śakti, pṛthute ‘pālana’

paraśurāme ‘duṣṭa-nāśaka-vīrya-sañcāraṇa’

Translation

“The Supreme Personality of Godhead invested the power of personal service in Lord Śeṣa, and He invested the power to rule the earth in King Pṛthu. Lord Paraśurāma received the power to kill rogues and miscreants.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Empowerment for Service, Rule, and Protection

  1. 1

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead invested the power of personal service in Lord Śeṣa.

  2. 2

    He invested the power to rule the earth in King Pṛthu. The purport explains that the Lord sometimes empowers such a king to kill rogues and miscreants.

  3. 3

    Lord Paraśurāma received the power to kill rogues and miscreants. The Lord also invests His power in incarnations like Paraśurāma.

Key points from the purport
  • Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.8), paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām.
  • Sometimes the Lord invests His power to rule in a king like Pṛthu and enables such a king to kill rogues and miscreants.
  • He also invests His power in incarnations like Paraśurāma.

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 20.372 quotesBG 4.8

Kṛṣṇa says in the Bhagavad-gītā (4.8), paritrāṇāya sādhūnāṁ vināśāya ca duṣkṛtām.

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. śeṣein Lord Śeṣa
  2. sva-sevana śaktithe power to serve the Lord personally
  3. pṛthutein King Pṛthu
  4. pālanathe power to rule
  5. paraśurāmein Paraśurāma
  6. duṣṭa-nāśaka-vīryathe extraordinary power to kill rogues and miscreants
  7. sañcāraṇainvesting
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Sevā · Love translated into service

    Devotional service expressed through cleansing, caring, teaching, honoring others, and living as Kṛṣṇa’s servant. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “service”

Concept links are an editorial study map; only the verse is the text itself.

4

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does this verse help you see the Lord as the source of these different powers?

Practice

Reread the verse and identify the power received by each of the three persons named.

5

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 todayEmpowerment for Service, Rule, and ProtectionThis 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 20.372? Get an answer from the verses themselves.