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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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Madhya-līlā · 25 chapters

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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 8: Talks Between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya
Madhya 8.86Madhya 8.88

Śrī Caitanya Caritamrta · Text Madhya 8.87

আকাশাদির গুণ যেন পর-পর ভূতে ।

দুই-তিন ক্রমে বাড়ে পঞ্চ পৃথিবীতে ॥ ৮৭ ॥

ākāśādira guṇa yena para-para bhūte

dui-tina krame bāḍe pañca pṛthivīte

Translation

“The qualities in the material elements — sky, air, fire, water and earth — increase one after another by a gradual process of one, two and three, and at the last stage, in the element earth, all five qualities are completely visible.

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.

Earth Displays All Five Qualities

  1. 1

    The material elements are listed in order: sky, air, fire, water and earth.

  2. 2

    Their qualities increase one after another through a gradual process.

  3. 3

    At the final stage, earth displays all five qualities completely.

How it feels

Deepening intimacy and revelation. Their exchange ascends from duty to pure love and the confidential moods of Vraja.

The mood of Madhya 8 as a whole, an editorial reading, not the text itself. See the emotional atlas

Further reading

Madhya 8: Talks Between Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu and Rāmānanda Rāya

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

Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu questioned him on the object and process of worship and also asked him to recite verses from the Vedic literature. First of all, Śrīla Rāmānanda Rāya enunciated the system of the varṇāśrama institution.
Read the whole chapter summaryBack to this verse in Madhya 8
2

Word for word

Learn the words of the verse.

  1. ākāśa-ādiraof the sky, air and so on
  2. guṇathe qualities
  3. yenajust as
  4. para-paraone after another
  5. bhūtein the material elements
  6. dui-tinatwo and then three
  7. krameby gradations
  8. bāḍeincrease
  9. pañcaall five
  10. pṛthivītein earth
3

Live it

Take one thing from this verse into your day.

Ask yourself

How does this sequence help me picture a gradual increase in qualities?

Practice

Write the five elements in the order given and mark earth as containing all five qualities.

Live this todayEarth Displays All Five QualitiesThis 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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