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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 24: The Sixty-One Explanations of the Ātmārāma Verse
Madhya 24.15Madhya 24.17

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 24.16

‘নির্গ্রন্থ’-শব্দে কহে, অবিদ্যা-গ্রন্থি-হীন ।

বিধি-নিষেধ-বেদশাস্ত্র-জ্ঞানাদি-বিহীন ॥ ১৬ ॥

‘nirgrantha’-śabde kahe, avidyā-granthi-hīna

vidhi-niṣedha-veda-śāstra-jñānādi-vihīna

Translation

“The word ‘nirgrantha’ refers to one who is liberated from the material knots of ignorance. It also refers to one who is devoid of all regulative principles enjoined in the Vedic literature. It also refers to one who does not have knowledge.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

This verse has no purport; its meaning is explained by the verses around it.

1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Nirgrantha Has Three Different Meanings

  1. 1

    Nirgrantha can refer to one liberated from the material knots of ignorance.

  2. 2

    It can also refer to one devoid of all regulative principles enjoined in the Vedic literature.

  3. 3

    A third meaning is one who does not have knowledge. These distinct meanings belong to the same word.

How it feels

Intellectual wonder humbled. Many explanations converge on the attractiveness of devotion; a hunter’s heart is transformed.

The mood of Madhya 24 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 24: The Sixty-One Explanations of the Ātmārāma Verse

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

He analyzed all the words and described each word with its different connotations. Adding the words ca and api, He described all the different meanings of the verse.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 24
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. nirgrantha-śabdeby the word nirgrantha
  2. kaheone means
  3. avidyāof ignorance
  4. granthi-hīnawithout any knot
  5. vidhi-niṣedharegulative principles of rules and restrictions
  6. veda-śāstrathe Vedic literature
  7. jñāna-ādiknowledge, and so on
  8. vihīnawithout
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Why is it important not to confuse freedom from ignorance with lack of knowledge?

Practice

Make a three-item list of the meanings of nirgrantha, noting the difference between liberation from ignorance and lack of knowledge.

Live this todayNirgrantha Has Three Different MeaningsThis 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 24.16? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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