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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 21: The Opulence and Sweetness of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa
Madhya 21.12Madhya 21.14

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 21.13

নান্তং বিদাম্যহমমী মুনয়োঽগ্রজাস্তে

মায়াবলস্য পুরুষস্য কুতোঽবরা যে ।

গায়ন্‌ গুণান্‌ দশশতানন আদিদেবঃ

শেষোঽধুনাপি সমবস্যতি নাস্য পারম্‌ ॥ ১৩ ॥

nāntaṁ vidāmy aham amī munayo ’grajās te

māyā-balasya puruṣasya kuto ’varā ye

gāyan guṇān daśa-śatānana ādi-devaḥ

śeṣo ’dhunāpi samavasyati nāsya pāram

Translation

“ ‘If I, Lord Brahmā, and your elder brothers, the great saints and sages, cannot understand the limits of the Supreme Personality of Godhead, who is full of various energies, who else can understand them? Although constantly chanting about His transcendental qualities, the thousand-hooded Lord Śeṣa has not yet reached the end of the Lord’s activities.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

The Lord’s Energies Have No Discoverable Limit

  1. 1

    Speaking to Nārada Muni, Lord Brahmā says that he and the great saints and sages cannot understand the Lord’s limits.

  2. 2

    The Supreme Personality of Godhead is full of various energies.

  3. 3

    The thousand-hooded Lord Śeṣa constantly chants about His transcendental qualities, yet has not reached the end of His activities.

Key points from the purport
  • This verse, spoken to Nārada Muni by Lord Brahmā, is also from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.7.41).

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 21.13 quotesSB 2.7.41

This verse, spoken to Nārada Muni by Lord Brahmā, is also from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (2.7.41).

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

Awe becoming attraction. The Lord’s vast opulence is placed beside the intimate sweetness of Kṛṣṇa.

The mood of Madhya 21 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 21: The Opulence and Sweetness of Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa

From Śrīla Prabhupāda's chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu then describes Lord Brahmā’s interview with Kṛṣṇa at Dvārakā and the Lord’s curbing the pride of Brahmā. There is also a description of one of Kṛṣṇa’s pastimes with Brahmā.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 21
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. na antamno limit
  2. vidāmiknow
  3. ahamI
  4. amīthose
  5. munayaḥgreat saintly persons
  6. agrajāḥbrothers
  7. teof you
  8. māyā-balasyawho has multi-energies
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Nāma-saṅkīrtana · The holy name shared together

    Chanting the holy names as the yuga-dharma, the Lord’s public movement, and the opening prayer of Śikṣāṣṭaka. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “chanting”, “chants”

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 can I keep praising the Lord while recognizing the limits of my understanding?

Practice

Read aloud the sentence about Lord Śeṣa’s constant chanting and pause to appreciate His continuing praise.

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 todayThe Lord’s Energies Have No Discoverable LimitThis 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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