304 Srimad-Bhagavatam [Canto 3, Ch. 8

PURPORT

The great sage Maitreya thanked Vidura and praised him by reference
to his family glories. The Piru dynasty is full of devotees of the Personality
of Godhead and is therefore glorious. Because they are not attached to
impersonal Brahman or to the localized Paramatma but are directly
attached to Bhagavan, the Personality of Godhead, they are therefore
worthy to render service to the Lord and His pure devotees. Because
Vidura was one of the descendants of that family, naturally he engaged
in spreading wide the ever new glories of the Lord. Maitreya felt happy to
have such glorious company as Vidura. He considered the company of
Vidura to be most desirable because such association can accelerate one’s
dormant propensities for devotional service.

TEXT 2
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so’ham nrnari ksulla-sukhaya duhkham
mahadgatanarh viramaya tasya
pravartaye bhagavatarh puranam

yad ttha saksad bhagavan rsibhyah

sah—that; aham—1; nrpadm—of the human being; ksulla—very little;
sukhaya—for happiness; duhkham—distress; mahat—great; gatandm—
entered into; viramaya—for mitigation; tasya—his; pravartaye—shall begin;
bhagavatam—Srimad-Bhagavatam; puranam—Vedic supplement; yat—
which; dha—said; saksat—directly; bhagavan—the Personality of Godhead;
rsibhyah—unto the sages.

TRANSLATION

Let me now begin speaking on the Bhagavata Purana, which was
directly spoken to the great sages by the Personality of Godhead for the
benefit of those who are entangled in extreme miseries for the sake of
very little pleasure.

PURPORT

The sage Maitreya proposed to speak on Srimad-Bhagavatam because
it is especially compiled, and traditionally comes down in the disciplic
