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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 24.30

‘ভক্তি’-শব্দের অর্থ হয় দশবিধাকার ।

এক — ‘সাধন’, ‘প্রেমভক্তি’ — নব প্রকার ॥ ৩০ ॥

‘bhakti’-śabdera artha haya daśa-vidhākāra

eka — ‘sādhana’, ‘prema-bhakti’ — nava prakāra

Translation

“There are ten meanings for the word ‘bhakti’ [‘devotional service’]. One is sādhana-bhakti, execution of devotional service according to the regulative principles, and the other nine are varieties of prema-bhakti, ecstatic love of Godhead.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Bhakti Includes Practice and Ecstatic Love

  1. 1

    Bhakti has ten meanings: one is sādhana-bhakti, and the other nine are varieties of prema-bhakti.

  2. 2

    Sādhana-bhakti means executing devotional service according to regulative principles.

  3. 3

    The nine varieties of prema-bhakti are rati, prema, sneha, māna, praṇaya, rāga, anurāga, bhāva and mahābhāva. Their meanings extend from attraction and love to ecstatic love and sublime ecstatic love.

Key points from the purport
  • The nine varieties of prema-bhakti are rati, prema, sneha, māna, praṇaya, rāga, anurāga, bhāva and mahābhāva — attraction, love, affection, adverse feelings, intimacy, attachment, subattachment, ecstatic love and sublime ecstatic love.
  • For the word sādhana-bhakti there is only one meaning, “the execution of devotional service according to regulative principles.”

Śrīla Prabhupāda's own sentences, chosen from the purport as its central points. Read the full purport on Vedabase to see them in place.

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:

According to Śrī Sanātana Gosvāmī’s request, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu explained the well-known Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam verse beginning ātmārāmāś ca munayaḥ. He explained this verse in sixty-one different ways.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 24
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. bhakti-śabderaof the word bhakti
  2. arthameanings
  3. hayaare
  4. daśa-vidha-ākāraten varieties
  5. ekaone
  6. sādhanathe execution of regulative devotional service
  7. prema-bhaktiecstatic love of Godhead
  8. nava prakāranine kinds
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Prema · Love of Godhead

    The culminating devotional purpose that unites the narration: bestowed, cultivated, taught, celebrated, and tasted. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “love of godhead”, “ecstatic love”, “prema-bhakti”

  • 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’”, “service”

  • 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: “bhāva”

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

How does this distinction help me understand devotional practice and ecstatic love?

Practice

Write the two headings sādhana-bhakti and prema-bhakti, and place their definitions beneath them.

Live this todayBhakti Includes Practice and Ecstatic LoveThis 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 24.30? Get an answer from the verses themselves.