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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 20.397
অতএব গোলোকস্থানে নিত্য বিহার ।
ব্রহ্মাণ্ডগণে ক্রমে প্রাকট্য তাহার ॥ ৩৯৭ ॥
ataeva goloka-sthāne nitya vihāra
brahmāṇḍa-gaṇe krame prākaṭya tāhāra
“The eternal pastimes of Kṛṣṇa are continuously taking place in the original Goloka Vṛndāvana planet. These same pastimes are gradually manifested within the material world, in each and every brahmāṇḍa.
Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.ioThree study points drawn from the translation and purport.
Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes are eternally present in the original Goloka Vṛndāvana and in the material universes. They are therefore called nitya-līlā, eternally present pastimes.
Although the sun appears to rise and set, it is continuously shining somewhere on the earth. Similarly, Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes seem to appear and disappear, yet all His līlās are present simultaneously throughout innumerable universes.
The 125 years calculated in our solar system as Kṛṣṇa’s lifetime equal one moment for Kṛṣṇa. Our limited senses make His eternal pastimes difficult to understand, so we should learn from the sun’s example and accept the verdict of the Vedic literatures.
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.
The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.
Vraja-smaraṇa · Remembrance of Vṛndāvana
The remembered sweetness of Vraja that colors Mahāprabhu’s pilgrimage, Ratha-yātrā, and later states of separation. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “vṛndāvana”
Concept links are an editorial study map; only the verse is the text itself.
Take one thing from this verse into your day.
How can the sun’s example help you understand something that your limited senses cannot directly observe?
Reflect for one minute on how the sun keeps shining when it is out of your sight, then reread the explanation of Kṛṣṇa’s nitya-līlā.
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 20.397? Get an answer from the verses themselves.