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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 24.81

বদন্তি তত্তত্ত্ববিদস্তত্ত্বং যজ্‌জ্ঞানমদ্বয়ম্‌ ।

ব্রহ্মেতি পরমাত্মেতি ভগবানিতি শব্দ্যতে ॥ ৮১ ॥

vadanti tat tattva-vidas

tattvaṁ yaj jñānam advayam

brahmeti paramātmeti

bhagavān iti śabdyate

Translation

“ ‘Learned transcendentalists who know the Absolute Truth say that it is nondual knowledge and is called impersonal Brahman, localized Paramātmā and the Personality of Godhead.’

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 Absolute Truth, Three Designations

  1. 1

    Learned transcendentalists describe the Absolute Truth as nondual knowledge.

  2. 2

    This one Absolute Truth is called impersonal Brahman, localized Paramātmā and the Personality of Godhead.

  3. 3

    These designations do not refer to separate Absolute Truths, but to the same nondual Truth.

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:

He explained this verse in sixty-one different ways. He analyzed all the words and described each word with its different connotations.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 24
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. vadantithey say
  2. tatthat
  3. tattva-vidaḥlearned souls
  4. tattvamthe Absolute Truth
  5. yatwhich
  6. jñānamknowledge
  7. advayamnondual
  8. brahmaBrahman
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does knowing that these three designations refer to one Truth help my understanding?

Practice

Write the three designations side by side, with “one nondual Absolute Truth” above them.

Live this todayOne Absolute Truth, Three DesignationsThis 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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