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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

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 ›

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 24.296

‘আত্মারামাশ্চ আত্মারামাশ্চ’ আটান্নবার ।

শেষে সব লোপ করি’ রাখি একবার ॥ ২৯৬ ॥

‘ātmārāmāś ca ātmārāmāś ca’ āṭānna-bāra

śeṣe saba lopa kari’ rākhi eka-bāra

Translation

“In this way, one can repeat the word ‘ātmārāmāḥ’ with ‘ca’ for each of the fifty-eight meanings. By following the rule previously stated and rejecting all but the last, we retain that which represents all the meanings.

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.

One Retained Expression Represents All Meanings

  1. 1

    The word ‘ātmārāmāḥ’ can be repeated with ‘ca’ for each of the fifty-eight meanings.

  2. 2

    Following the previously stated rule, all repetitions but the last are rejected.

  3. 3

    What remains represents all the meanings, rather than only one.

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. ātmārāmāḥ ca ātmārāmāḥ carepeating ātmārāmāḥ
  2. āṭānna-bārafifty-eight times
  3. śeṣeat the end
  4. saba lopa kari’rejecting all
  5. rākhiwe keep
  6. eka-bāraonly one
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does this explanation help me see that one retained expression can represent many meanings?

Practice

Write a one-sentence summary of how the last retained expression represents all fifty-eight meanings.

Live this todayOne Retained Expression Represents All 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 24.296? Get an answer from the verses themselves.