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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 24.182Madhya 24.184

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 24.183

মৎসেবয়া প্রতীতং তে সালোক্যাদি-চতুষ্টয়ম্ ।

নেচ্ছন্তি সেবয়া পূর্ণাঃ কুতোঽন্যৎ কালবিপ্লুতম্ ॥ ১৮৩ ॥

mat-sevayā pratītaṁ te

sālokyādi-catuṣṭayam

necchanti sevayā pūrṇāḥ

kuto ’nyat kāla-viplutam

Translation

“ ‘My devotees, having fulfilled their desires by serving Me, do not accept the four kinds of salvation that are easily earned by such service. Why then should they accept any pleasures that are lost in the course of time?’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Service fulfills desires beyond salvation

  1. 1

    The Lord’s devotees find their desires fulfilled by serving Him.

  2. 2

    They do not accept even the four kinds of salvation that are easily earned through such service.

  3. 3

    Having found fulfillment in service, they have no reason to accept pleasures that disappear with time.

Connected verses· 1

The purport of CC Madhya 24.183 quotesSB 9.4.67

This is a quotation from Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam (9.4.67).

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. matof Me
  2. sevayāby service
  3. pratītamobtained
  4. tethey
  5. sālokya-ādiliberation, beginning with sālokya
  6. catuṣṭayamthe four kinds of
  7. na icchantido not desire
  8. sevayāby service
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”, “serving”

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

What temporary reward am I still hoping to gain through devotional service?

Practice

Choose one small act of service today and do it without asking for pleasure or salvation in return.

Live this todayService fulfills desires beyond salvationThis 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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