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Read one verse of Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta with its Bengali, transliteration, word meanings, translation and study points.

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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 ›
Madhya-līlā · Chapter 6: The Liberation of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya
Madhya 6.171Madhya 6.173

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 6.172

ব্যাস — ভ্রান্ত বলি’ সেই সূত্রে দোষ দিয়া ।

‘বিবর্তবাদ’ স্থাপিয়াছে কল্পনা করিয়া ॥ ১৭২ ॥

vyāsa — bhrānta bali’ sei sūtre doṣa diyā

‘vivarta-vāda’ sthāpiyāche kalpanā kariyā

Translation

“Śaṅkarācārya states that the theory of transformation presented in the Vedānta-sūtra implies that the Absolute Truth itself is transformed. In this way the Māyāvādī philosophers denigrate Śrīla Vyāsadeva by accusing him of error. They thus find fault in the Vedānta-sūtra and misinterpret it to try to establish the theory of illusion.

Read Śrīla Prabhupāda's purport on Vedabase.io
1

Understand it

Three study points drawn from the translation and purport.

Creation Transforms the Lord’s Energy, Not Himself

  1. 1

    The Absolute Truth is the original source of everything. This does not mean that the original person Himself becomes transformed.

  2. 2

    The Lord produces the cosmic manifestation through His inconceivable energy. The scriptures compare His creating and withdrawing it to a spider producing and drawing back its web.

  3. 3

    Transformation of the Lord’s energy is called pariṇāma-vāda. The purport criticizes Śaṅkarācārya for using word jugglery to present it as vivarta-vāda, the theory of illusion.

Key points from the purport
  • The second verse immediately answers, janmādy asya yataḥ: “The Absolute Truth is the original source of everything.”
  • However, being very anxious to protect Śrīla Vyāsadeva from criticism, Śaṅkarācārya became a pseudo gentleman and put forward his theory of illusion (vivarta-vāda).
  • Śaṅkarācārya concocted this meaning of pariṇāma-vāda, and by word jugglery he endeavored very hard to establish pariṇāma-vāda as vivarta-vāda.

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

Connected verses· 1

The purport of CC Madhya 6.172 quotesBG 10.8

This is also clearly explained in the Bhagavad-gītā (10.8), where Kṛṣṇa says, mattaḥ sarvaṁ pravartate: “From Me, everything emanates.”

Each link is a verse the purport itself quotes, or a purport elsewhere that quotes this verse, shown with the purport's own words.

How it feels

Doubt transformed to devotion. Intellectual resistance gives way to a profound change of heart.

The mood of Madhya 6 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 6: The Liberation of Sārvabhauma Bhaṭṭācārya

From Śrīla Prabhupāda's chapter summary, the lines nearest this verse:

The real philosophy of the Absolute Truth states that the Lord and His creation are inconceivably and simultaneously one and different. The conclusion is that the Māyāvādī philosophers are actually atheists.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 6
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. vyāsaŚrīla Vyāsadeva
  2. bhrāntamistaken
  3. bali’saying
  4. seithat
  5. sūtrein the Vedānta-sūtra
  6. doṣafault
  7. diyāaccusing
  8. vivarta-vādathe theory of illusion
3

Key ideas in this verse

The themes of love and mercy this verse speaks of.

  • Kṛpā & transformation · Mercy changes a life

    Transformative encounters with grace, from scholars and travelers to renunciants and householders. · In the Prema Atlas

    In this verse: “transformed”

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

Can I distinguish transformation of the Lord’s energy from transformation of the Lord Himself?

Practice

Write down the teaching, “Everything comes from the Lord, but the Lord Himself is not transformed,” and review it once today.

Live this todayCreation Transforms the Lord’s Energy, Not HimselfThis 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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