188 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 1, Ch. 3

tatra kirtayato vipra
viprarser bhitri-tejasah

aham cadhyagamam tatra
nivistas tad anugrahat

so’ham vah sravayisyami
yathadhitam yathamati

tatra—there; kirtayatah—while reciting; viprah—O brahmanas; viprarseh
—from the great brahmana rsi; bhiiri—greatly; tejasah— powerful; aham—I;
ca—also;adhyagamam—could understand; tatra—in that meeting; nivistah—
being perfectly attentive; tat-anugrahat—by his mercy; sah—that very
thing; aham—I; vah—unto you; sravayisyami—shall let you hear; yath-
adhitam yathamati—as far as my realization.

TRANSLATION

O learned brahmanas, when Sukadeva Gosvami recited Bhagavatam
there [in the presence of Emperor Pariksit], by his mercy I heard this
from that great and powerful sage with rapt attention. Now I shall try to
make you hear the very same thing as I learned it from him and as I
have realized it.

PURPORT

One can certainly see directly the presence of Lord Sri Krsna in the
pages of Bhagavatam if one has heard it from a self-realized great soul like
Sukadeva Gosvami. One cannot, however, learn Bhagavatam from a bogus
hired reciter whose aim of life is to earn some money out of such reci-
tation and employ the earning in sex indulgence. No one can learn
Srimad-Bhagavatam who is associated with persons engaged in sex life.
That is the secret of learning Bhagavatam. Nor can one learn Bhagavatam
from one who interprets the text by his mundane scholarship. One has to
learn Bhagavatam from the representative of Sukadeva Gosvami and no
one else, if one at all wants to see Lord Sri Krsna in the pages. That is the
process, and there is no alternative. Sita Gosvami is a bona fide represen-
tative of Sukadeva Gosvami because he wants to present the message which
he had received from the great learned brahmana. Sukadeva Gosvami also
presented Bhagavatam as he heard it from his great father, and so also Sita
Gosvami is presenting Bhagavatam as he had heard it from Sukadeva
Gosvami. Simple hearing is not all; one must realize the text with proper
