182 Srimad-Bhagavatam {Canto 1, Ch. 3
idam bhagavatam nama
puradnam brahma-sammitam
uttama-sloka-caritam
cakara bhagavan rsih
nihsreyasaya lokasya
dhanyarm svasty-ayanam mahat
idam—this; bhdgavatam—book containing the narration of the Person-
ality of Godhead and His pure devotees; ndma—of the name; puranam—
supplementary to the Vedas; brahma-sammitam—incarnation of Lord Sri
Krsna; uttama-sloka—of the Personality of Godhead; caritam—activities;
cakara—compiled; bhagavan—incarnation of the Personality of Godhead;
rsih—Sri Vyasadeva; nihsreyasaya—for the ultimate good; lokasya—of all
people; dhanyam—fully successful; svasti-ayanam—all-blissful; mahat—all-
perfect.
TRANSLATION
This Srimad-Bhagavatam is the literary incarnation of God, and it is
compiled by Srila Vyasadeva, the incarnation of God. It is meant for the
ultimate good of all people, and it is all-successful, all-blissful and all-
perfect.
PURPORT
Lord Sri Caitanya Mahaprabhu declared that Srimad-Bhagavatam is the
spotless sound representation of all Vedic knowledge and history. There
are selected histories of great devotees who are in direct contact with the
Personality of Godhead. Srimad-Bhdagavatam is the literary incarnation of
Lord Sri Krsna and is therefore nondifferent from Him. S rimad-Bhagavatam
shouid be worshiped as respectfully as we worship the Lord. Thereby we
can derive the ultimate blessings of the Lord through its careful and
patient study. As God is all light, all bliss and all perfection, so also is
Srimad-Bhagavatam. We can have all the transcendental light of the
Supreme Brahman Sri Krsna from the recitation of Srimad-Bhagavatam,
provided it is received through the medium of the transparent spiritual
master. Lord Caitanya’s private secretary Srila Svariipa Damodara Go-
svami advised all intending visitors who came to see the Lord at Puri to
make a study of the Bhagavatam from the person Bhagavatam. Person
Bhagavatam is the self-realized bona fide spiritual master, and through
him only can one understand the lessons of Bhagavatam in order to receive
the desired result. One can derive from the study of the Bhagavatam all
benefits that are possible to be derived from the personal presence of the
