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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 24.308

বিষ্ণুশক্তিঃ পরা প্রোক্তা ক্ষেত্রজ্ঞাখ্যা তথাপরা ।

অবিদ্যা-কর্ম-সংজ্ঞান্যা তৃতীয়া শক্তিরিষ্যতে ॥ ৩০৮ ॥

viṣṇu-śaktiḥ parā proktā

kṣetrajñākhyā tathā parā

avidyā-karma-saṁjñānyā

tṛtīyā śaktir iṣyate

Translation

“ ‘The potency of Lord Viṣṇu is summarized in three categories — namely the spiritual potency, the living entities and ignorance. The spiritual potency is full of knowledge; the living entities, although belonging to the spiritual potency, are subject to bewilderment; and the third energy, which is full of ignorance, is always visible in fruitive activities.’

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Three Categories of Lord Viṣṇu’s Potency

  1. 1

    The Viṣṇu Purāṇa summarizes Lord Viṣṇu’s potency in three categories: spiritual potency, living entities and ignorance.

  2. 2

    The spiritual potency is full of knowledge. Living entities belong to the spiritual potency but are subject to bewilderment.

  3. 3

    The third energy is full of ignorance and is always visible in fruitive activities.

Key points from the purport
  • This is a quotation from the Viṣṇu Purāṇa.

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:

Sanātana Gosvāmī then offered a prayer to Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu, and Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu explained the glory of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. After this, the Lord gave Sanātana Gosvāmī a synopsis of Hari-bhakti-vilāsa, which Sanātana Gosvāmī later developed into the guiding principle of all Vaiṣṇavas.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 24
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Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. viṣṇu-śaktiḥthe potency of Lord Viṣṇu
  2. parāspiritual
  3. proktāit is said
  4. kṣetra-jña-ākhyāthe potency known as kṣetrajña
  5. tathāas well as
  6. parāspiritual
  7. avidyāignorance
  8. karmafruitive activities
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

What does being subject to bewilderment remind me about my need for knowledge?

Practice

Write down the three categories of potency and one characteristic given for each.

Live this todayThree Categories of Lord Viṣṇu’s PotencyThis 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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