CC Madhya 24 Summary

Śrī Caitanya Caritāmṛta, Madhya-līlā, Chapter 24: The Sixty-One Explanations of the Atmārāma Verse

CC Madhya 24.1

His Divine Grace
A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada

The Sixty-One Explanations of the Ātmārāma Verse

The following summary of this chapter is given by Śrīla Bhaktivinoda Ṭhākura in his Amṛta-pravāha-bhāṣya. 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. He analyzed all the words and described each word with its different connotations. Adding the words ca and api, He described all the different meanings of the verse. He then concluded that different classes of transcendentalists (jñānīs, karmīs, yogīs) utilize this verse according to their own interpretation, but if they would give up this process and surrender to Kṛṣṇa, as indicated by the verse itself, they would be able to comprehend the real meaning of the verse. In this regard, Śrī Caitanya Mahāprabhu narrated a story about how the great sage Nārada converted a hunter into a great Vaiṣṇava, and how this was appreciated by Nārada’s friend Parvata Muni. 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.