1 · Learn4 of 6 · 5 min

Study a Verse

Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.

Or browse by līlā and chapter

Madhya-līlā · 25 chapters

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 12 13 14 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25

How to study this verse, in six steps

1Say the verse. Read the transliteration aloud, slowly.
2Read the word meanings. Go through each word and its meaning.
3Read the translation. Ask: what is happening here, and who is it about?
4Read the purport slowly. Read it twice. Don't rush.
5See Lord Caitanya as Kṛṣṇa. Remember who is acting in the pastime.
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 24.200 Madhya 24.202

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 24.201

জীবের স্বভাব — কৃষ্ণ-‘দাস’-অভিমান ।

দেহে আত্ম-জ্ঞানে আচ্ছাদিত সেই ‘জ্ঞান’ ॥ ২০১ ॥

jīvera svabhāva — kṛṣṇa-‘dāsa’-abhimāna

dehe ātma-jñāne ācchādita sei ‘jñāna’

Translation

“The original nature of every living entity is to consider himself the eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. But under the influence of māyā he thinks himself to be the body, and thus his original consciousness is covered.

Read this verse on Vedabase.io

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

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Our Original Nature Is Service to Kṛṣṇa

1
Every living entity is originally an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa. This is the living entity’s original consciousness.
2
Under the influence of māyā, the living entity thinks of himself as the body.
3
This bodily identification covers original consciousness. It does not change the living entity’s eternal relationship with Kṛṣṇa.

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

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

From Śrīla Prabhupāda's chapter summary, the lines nearest this 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 summary Back to this verse in Madhya 24

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

jīvera svabhāvathe original characteristic of all living entities
kṛṣṇa-dāsaservant of Kṛṣṇa
abhimānathe conception
dehein the material body
ātma-jñāneby the conception of the self
ācchāditacovered
sei jñānathat original consciousness

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: “servant”
Bhāva & rasa · The language of sacred feeling
Transcendental devotional moods and relationships, discussed explicitly in Rāmānanda’s dialogue and the teachings on prema. · In the Prema Atlas
In this verse: “relationship”

Concept links are an editorial study map; only the verse is the text itself.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How might remembering that you are Kṛṣṇa’s servant change the way you see yourself?

Practice

Pause today and reflect on this sentence: “I am an eternal servant of Kṛṣṇa, not merely this body.”

Live this todayOur Original Nature Is Service to KṛṣṇaThis 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 24.201? Get an answer from the verses themselves.

Next in Learn · 5 of 9 · 2 minAsk Caitanya CaritamrtaBring your own question. Get an answer drawn only from the book's translations, with every verse shown.Back · LearnLīlās & chapters