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Study a Verse

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 24.168Madhya 24.170

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 24.169

তস্যৈব হেতোঃ প্ৰযতেত কোবিদো

ন লভ্যতে যদ্‌ভ্রমতামুপর্যধঃ ।

তল্লভ্যতে দুঃখবদন্যতঃ সুখং

কালেন সর্বত্র গভীর-রংহসা ॥ ১৬৯ ॥

tasyaiva hetoḥ prayateta kovido

na labhyate yad bhramatām upary adhaḥ

tal labhyate duḥkha-vad anyataḥ sukhaṁ

kālena sarvatra gabhīra-raṁhasā

Translation

“ ‘The transcendental position cannot be attained by wandering up and down from Brahmaloka and Satyaloka to Pātālaloka. If one is actually intelligent and learned, he should endeavor for that rare transcendental position. By the force of time one attains whatever material happiness is available within the fourteen worlds, just as one attains distress in due course of time. But since spiritual consciousness is not attained in this way, one should try for it.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Endeavor for Devotional Service

  1. 1

    Wandering among the fourteen worlds cannot bring one to the transcendental position. An intelligent, learned person should endeavor for that rare position.

  2. 2

    Material happiness and distress arrive in due course of time. Spiritual consciousness does not come in this way; one must try for it.

  3. 3

    Vyāsadeva was morose even after compiling all the Vedic literatures. Nārada Muni advised him to try to attain devotional service and nothing else.

Key points from the purport
  • This verse was spoken by Nārada Muni in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.18).
  • Nārada Muni was speaking to Vyāsadeva, who was morose even after he had compiled all the Vedic literatures.
  • In this connection, Nārada Muni advised Śrīla Vyāsadeva to try to attain devotional service and nothing else.

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 24.169 quotesSB 1.5.18

This verse was spoken by Nārada Muni in Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (1.5.18).

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

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:

Adding the words ca and api, He described all the different meanings of the verse. He then concluded that different classes of transcendentalists ( jñānīs, karmīs, yogīs ) utilize this verse according to their own interpretation, but if they would give up this process and surrender to Kṛṣṇa, as indicated by the verse itself, they would be able to comprehend the real meaning 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. tasya evafor that
  2. hetoḥreason
  3. prayatetashould endeavor
  4. kovidaḥone who is learned and intelligent
  5. nanot
  6. labhyateis achieved
  7. yatthat which
  8. bhramatāmof those wandering
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

Where could I direct more effort toward spiritual consciousness rather than material happiness?

Practice

Set aside five minutes today for devotional service instead of pursuing an extra material comfort.

Live this todayEndeavor for Devotional ServiceThis 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 24.169? Get an answer from the verses themselves.
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