Text 4]
Questions by the Sages
59
One should conclude, therefore, that the serious student of the  rasa  should receive the message of  Bhāgavatam  in the chain of disciplinary succession from Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who describes the  Bhāgavatam  from its very beginning and not whimsically to satisfy the mundaner who has very little knowledge in transcendental science.  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  is so carefully presented that a sincere and serious person can at once enjoy the ripened fruit of Vedic knowledge simply by drinking the nectarean juice through the mouth of Śukadeva Gosvāmī or his bona fide representative.
TEXT 4
नैमिषेऽनिमिषक्षेत्रे ऋषयः शौनकादयः । सत्रं स्वर्गायलोकाय सहस्रसम्मासत ॥ ४ ॥
naimiṣe 'nimiṣakṣetre   rṣayaḥ śaunakādayaḥ   satram svargāyalokāya   sahasra-samam āsata
naimiṣe —in the forest known as Naimiṣāraṇya;  animiṣa-kṣetre —the spot which is especially a favorite of Viṣṇu (who does not close His eyelids);  rṣayaḥ —sages;  śaunaka-ādayaḥ —headed by the sage Śaunaka;  satram —sacrifice;  svargāya —the Lord who is glorified in heaven;  lokāya —and for the devotees who are always in touch with the Lord;  sahasra —one thousand;  samam —years;  āsata —performed.
TRANSLATION
Once, in a holy place in the forest of Naimiṣāraṇya, great sages headed by the sage Śaunaka assembled to perform a great thousand-year sacrifice for the satisfaction of the Lord and His devotees.
PURPORT
The prelude of the  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  was spoken in the previous three  ślokas . Now the main topic of this great literature is being presented.  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam , after its first recitation by Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī, was repeated for the second time at Naimiṣāraṇya.
In the  Vāyavīya Tantra , it is said that Brahmā, the engineer of this particular universe, contemplated a great wheel which could enclose the universe. The hub of this great circle was fixed at a particular place known