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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

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 24.211 Madhya 24.213

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 24.212

দেহারামী দেহে ভজে ‘দেহোপাধি ব্রহ্ম’ ।

সৎসঙ্গে সেহ করে কৃষ্ণের ভজন ॥ ২১২ ॥

dehārāmī dehe bhaje ‘dehopādhi brahma’

sat-saṅge seha kare kṛṣṇera bhajana

Translation

“One in the bodily conception worships his own body as Brahman, but when he comes in contact with a devotee, he gives up this mistaken idea and engages himself in the devotional service of Lord Kṛṣṇa.

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.

Devotee Association Corrects the Bodily Conception

1
A person in the bodily conception may worship his own body as Brahman.
2
Contact with a devotee helps that person give up this mistaken idea.
3
The change leads to engagement in the devotional service of Lord 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.

dehārāmīa person who has accepted the body as the self and is interested only in sense gratification
dehein the body
bhajeworships
deha-upādhi brahmaBrahman having the body as a designation
sat-saṅgein the association of devotees
sehasuch a person
karedoes
kṛṣṇera bhajanaservice to Lord Kṛṣṇa

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.

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

Am I willing to let a devotee’s guidance correct my understanding of the body?

Practice

Ask a devotee how to use one ordinary bodily activity in Lord Kṛṣṇa’s service today.

Live this todayDevotee Association Corrects the Bodily ConceptionThis 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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