Introduction
“This  Bhāgavata Purāṇa  is as brilliant as the sun, and it has arisen just after the departure of Lord Kṛṣṇa to His own abode, accompanied by religion, knowledge, etc. Persons who have lost their vision due to the dense darkness of ignorance in the age of Kali shall get light from this  Purāṇa .” ( Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  1.3.43)
The timeless wisdom of India is expressed in the  Vedas , ancient Sanskrit texts that touch upon all fields of human knowledge. Originally preserved through oral tradition, the  Vedas  were first put into writing five thousand years ago by Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the “literary incarnation of God.” After compiling the  Vedas , Vyāsadeva set forth their essence in the aphorisms known as  Vedānta-sūtras .  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  is Vyāsadeva’s commentary on his own  Vedānta-sūtras . It was written in the maturity of his spiritual life under the direction of Nārada Muni, his spiritual master. Referred to as “the ripened fruit of the tree of Vedic literature,”  Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam  is the most complete and authoritative exposition of Vedic knowledge.
After compiling the  Bhāgavatam , Vyāsa impressed the synopsis of it upon his son, the sage Śukadeva Gosvāmī. Śukadeva Gosvāmī subsequently recited the entire  Bhāgavatam  to Mahārāja Parikṣit in an assembly of learned saints on the bank of the Ganges at Hastināpura (now Delhi). Mahārāja Parikṣit was the emperor of the world and was a great  rājarṣi  (saintly king). Having received a warning that he would die within a week, he renounced his entire kingdom and retired to the bank of the Ganges to fast until death and receive spiritual enlightenment. The  Bhāgavatam  begins with Emperor Parikṣit’s sober inquiry to Śukadeva Gosvāmī:
“You are the spiritual master of great saints and devotees. I am therefore begging you to show the way of perfection for all persons, and especially for one who is about to die. Please let me know what a man should hear, chant, remember and worship, and also what he should not do. Please explain all this to me.”
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