Bhagavata Purana

Bhagavata Purana manuscripts from 16th- to 19th-century, in Sanskrit (above) and in Bengali language.

Bhagavata Purana (Devanagari: भागवतपुराण; Bhāgavata Purāṇa) also known as Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Śrīmad
Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata, is one of Hinduism's eighteen great Puranas (Mahapuranas, great histories).[1][2] Composed in
Sanskrit and available in almost all major Indian languages,[3] it promotes bhakti (devotion) to Krishna[4][5][6] integrating themes
from the Advaita (monism) philosophy and from the Dvaita (dualism) philosophy.[7][5][8][9]

The Bhagavata Purana discusses a wide range of topics including Cosmology, Genealogy, Geography, Mythology, Legend,
Music, Dance, Yoga and Culture.[5][10] As it begins, the forces of evil have won a war between the benevolent devas (deities) and
evil asuras (demons) and now rule the universe. Truth re-emerges as Krishna (called "Hari" and "Vasudeva" (another name for
Krishna) in the text) – first makes peace with the demons, understands them and then creatively defeats them, bringing back hope,
justice, freedom and happiness – a cyclic theme that appears in many legends.[11]

The Bhagavata Purana is a revered text in Vaishnavism, a Hindu tradition that reveres Vishnu.[12] The text presents a form of
religion (dharma) that competes with that of the Vedas, wherein bhakti ultimately leads to self-knowledge, liberation (moksha)
and bliss.[13] However the Bhagavata Purana asserts that the inner nature and outer form of Krishna is identical to the Vedas and
that this is what rescues the world from the forces of evil.[14] An oft-quoted verse is used by some Krishna sects to assert that the
text itself is Krishna in literary form.[15]

The date of composition is probably between the eighth and the tenth century AD, but may be as early as the 6th century
AD.[6][16][17] Manuscripts survive in numerous inconsistent versions revised through the 18th century creating various
recensions both in the same languages and across different Indian languages.[18] The text consists of twelve books (skandhas)
totalling 332 chapters (adhyayas) and between 16,000 and 18,000 verses depending on the recension.[15][19] The tenth book, with
about 4,000 verses, has been the most popular and widely studied.[3] It was the first Purana that was translated into a European
language, when a French translation of a Tamil version appeared in 1788 and introduced many Europeans to Hinduism and 18th-
century Hindu culture during the colonial era.[6][20]

Contents
Etymology
Significance
Jainism, Buddhism and Yoga as Bhakti
Origin, chronology and inconsistent manuscripts
Traditional account
Modern scholarship
Inconsistent manuscripts
Philosophy
Bhakti
Samkhya
Advaita
Social equality
Dharma
Yoga
Contents and plot
Narrators and setting
Interconnected plot
Books
Theatre, dance and festivals
Commentaries
See also
Notes
References
Bibliography
Further reading
External links

Etymology
"Purana" means "ancient, old".[21] Bhagavata means "devoted to, follower of Bhagavat – the "sacred, divine (God, Lord)".[22]
An alternative interpretation of Bhagavata is "devotees of the Adorable One".[23] Bhagavata Purana therefore means "Ancient
Tales of Followers of the Lord". The composer of this work, Lord Veda Vyasa, in his second verse has described the Subject,
Eligibility and the Fruit of studying and named it as Srimad Bhagavatam. Sri is used for wealth or abundance or richness. Such
Sri elevates one higher and hence is called Srimad. Bhagavata also means Sacred or Divine or Holy. The holy or divine verses
bring an abundance of happiness, Devotion and Knowledge that is in Vedas and Vedanta, Dharma and Vairagya to the reader or
listener and hence is called Srimad Bhagavatam (https://tattvajnana.blogspot.com/2019/03/srimad-bhagavatam-skanda-1-subject.
html).

Significance
 The Bhagavata Purana was a significant text in the bhakti movement and the culture of India.[24] Dance and
theatre arts such as Kathakali (left), Kuchipudi (middle) and Odissi (right) portray legends from the
Purana.[25][26]

The Bhagavata is widely recognized as the best-known and most influential of the Puranas and, along with the Itihasa epics and
other puranas, is sometimes referred to as the "Fifth Veda".[27][28][29] It is important in Indian religious literature for its emphasis
on the practice of devotion as compared to the more theoretical approach of the Bhagavad Gita, for a definition of religion that
competes with the Vedas, and for its extended description of a God in human form.[5] It is the source of many popular stories of
Krishna's childhood told for centuries on the Indian subcontinent[6] and of legends explaining Hindu festivals such as Holi and
Diwali. The Bhagavata declares itself the essence of all the Upanishads and derivative Smritis; in the third verse, Lord Veda
Vyasa has described Srimad Bhagavata as Juice of a fruit borne by a tree of Vedas (https://tattvajnana.blogspot.com/2019/03/srim
ad-bhagavatam-skanda-1-subject.html) called Kalpavruksha and easy to relish. Here Vedas are like seeds; Brahma Sutra,
Bhagavad Gita, Vishnu Sahasaranama are like trunk, branch, leaves, flowers. The fruit and its Juice being Srimad Bhagavata (http
s://tattvajnana.blogspot.com/2019/01/sbm-04-flavor-of-srimad-bhagavata-as.html). As Srimad Bhagavata has the substance of
Vedas, Vedanta and Mahabarata, it has high significance.

The Srimad Bhagavatam is the very essence of all the Vedanta literature. One who has enjoyed the nectar of its
rasa never has any desire for anything else.

— Bhagavata Purana 12.13.15, Translated by David Haberman[30]

The text has played a significant role in Chaitanya's Krishna-bhakti in Bengal,[31] and in the 15th–16th century Ekasarana
Dharma in Assam, a panentheistic tradition whose proponents, Sankardeva and Madhavdeva, acknowledge that their theological
positions are rooted in the Bhagavata Purana,[32] purged of doctrines that find no place in Assamese Vaishnavism[33] and adding
a monist commentary instead.[34]

In northern and western India the Bhagavata Purana has influenced the Hari Bhakti Vilasa and Haveli-style Krishna temples
found in Braj region near Mathura-Vrindavan.[35] The text complements the Pancharatra Agama texts of Vaishnavism.[35] While
the text focuses on Krishna "Lord Narayana (Vishnu) himself appears and explains how Brahma and Shiva should never be seen
as independent and different from him".[36] The sixth book includes the feminine principle as Shakti, or goddess Devi,
conceptualizing her as the "energy and creative power" of the masculine yet a manifestation of a sexless Brahman, presented in a
language suffused with Hindu monism.[37]

Jainism, Buddhism and Yoga as Bhakti

The fifth book of the Bhagavata Purana is significant in its inclusion of homage and many chapters of legends about the
Tirthankaras of Jainism, particularly Rishabha,[38] while homage to Buddha is included in various chapters by declaring him as
one of the avatars of Vishnu.[39] However, the interpretation of Buddhism-related stories in the Purana range from honor to
ambivalence to polemics wherein prophecies predict some will distort and misrepresent the teachings of the Vedas, and attempt to
sow confusion.[40][41][42] The Bhagavata Purana is also significant in asserting that Yoga practice is a form of Bhakti.[43]

Origin, chronology and inconsistent manuscripts

Traditional account
The Bhagavata Purana, in verse 2.9.32, asserts its primordial origins.[8] The
text and the Hindu tradition also hagiographically credit the authorship of all
18 Maha Puranas to Veda Vyasa, who is revered for authoring the Mahabharata
as well,[45][46][47] and other ancient classics of India.[48] According to Rai
Bahadur Srisa Chandra Vidyarnava Vishnu Bhagavatam is a modern
An illustration of an episode from the compilation which he attributes to Bopadeva - the author of Mugdhabodha
Bhagavata (IV.17), in which Vishnu Vyakaranam.
avatar Prithu chases the earth
goddess Prithvi in the form of a cow, to
end a famine in his kingdom.[44] Modern scholarship
Modern scholarship dates its composition to between 500 CE to 1000 CE, but
most likely between 800 and 1000 CE.[17] A version of the text existed no later than 1030 CE, when it is mentioned by al
Biruni[17] and quoted by Abhinavagupta. The Bhagavata Purana abounds in references to verses of the Vedas, the primary
Upanishads, the Brahma Sutra of Vedanta school of Hindu philosophy, and the Bhagavad Gita, suggesting that it was composed
after these texts.[49] The text contains more details of Krishna's biography than the 3rd- 4th-century Harivamsha and Vishnu
Purana, and is therefore likely to have been composed after these texts, suggesting a chronological range of 500–1000 CE.[17][50]
Within this range, scholars such as R. C. Hazra date it to the first half of the 6th century CE, Bryant as well as Gupta and Valpey
citing epigraphical and archaeological evidence suggest much of the text could be from the 4th to 7th century,[51][52] while most
others place it in the post-Alvar period around the 9th century.[17][53][54] Parts of the text use an archaic Vedic flavour of
Sanskrit, which may either suggest that its authors sought to preserve or express reverence for the Vedic tradition, or that some
text has an earlier origin.[49] There are two flavors of Krishna stories, one of warrior prince and another of romantic lover, the
former composed in more archaic Sanskrit and the later in a different linguistic style, suggesting that the texts may not have been
composed by one author or over a short period, but rather grew over time as a compilation of accretions from different
hands.[10][55]

The Bhagavata Purana contains apparent references to the South Indian Alvar saints and it makes a post factum prophecy of the
spread of Vishnu worship in Tamil country (BP XI.5.38–40);[27][50] these facts, along with its emphasis on "emotional Bhakti to
Krishna" and the "Advaita philosophy of Sankara", lead many scholars to trace its origins to South India.[5] However, J. A. B.
van Buitenen points out that 10th–11th CE South Indian Vaishnava theologians Yamuna and Ramanuja do not refer to Bhagavata
Purana in their writings, and this anomaly must be explained before the geographical origins and dating are regarded as
definitive.[27][50]

Since the 19th-century, most scholars believe that the Bhagavata Purana was written by a group of learned Brahmin ascetics,
probably in South India, who were well versed in Vedic and ancient Indian literature and influenced by the Alvars.[56]
Postmodern scholars have suggested alternate theories.[57]

Inconsistent manuscripts
The Puranas are a type of traditional Hindu texts that took form during the medieval period, often both informed by earlier
material and undergoing later interpolations.[8] It is therefore problematic to assign a precise date to any Purana text.[6][53][58]
Modern scholarship on Puranas manuscripts, including those of Bhagavata
Purana, has been challenging because there are numerous, inconsistent
versions of each Purana.[59][60] Most editions of Puranas in use,
particularly by Western scholars, are "based on one manuscript or on a few
manuscripts selected at random", even though divergent manuscripts with
the same title exist. Scholars have long acknowledged the existence of
Purana manuscripts that "seem to differ much from printed edition", and it
is unclear which one is accurate, and whether conclusions drawn from the
Bhagavata Purana Manuscript, Bengal,
randomly or cherrypicked printed version were universal over geography India, 16th century
or time.[59] This problem is most severe with Purana manuscripts of the
same title, including the Bhagavata Purana, that exist in regional languages
such as Tamil, Telugu, Bengali and others—which have largely been ignored.[59]

Philosophy
The Bhagavata is primarily a bhakti text, with an emphasis on achieving moksha through cultivating a personal relationship with
Vishnu in the form of Krishna.[61][note 1] The philosophy and teachings of the Bhagavata include several traditions, and an
absence of a "narrow, sectarian spirit". While Bhakti Yoga is the prominent teaching, various passages show a synthesis that also
includes Samkhya, Yoga, Vedanta, and Advaita Vedanta.[48]

Bhakti
The Bhagavata is among the most important texts on bhakti, presenting a fully
developed teaching on bhakti that originated with the Bhagavad Gita.[63] Bhakti
is presented as a path of yoga, or "union with the divine". Many of the bhakti
teachings in the Bhagavata are presented as yogic activities—meditating on the
lila of Krishna; hearing and singing about Vishnu as Krishna; remembering,
serving, and worshiping him; dedicating all of one's actions to him—all are
among nine activities of Bhakti Yoga taught in the Bhagavata. While classical
yoga attempts to shut down the mind and senses, the Bhakti Yoga in the
Bhagavata teaches that the focus of the mind is transformed by filling the mind
with thoughts of Krishna.[64]

There are many didactic philosophical passages, but the lengthy narrative stories
are also a teaching; the book describes one of the activities that lead to liberation
(moksha) as listening to, reflecting on the stories of Krishna and sharing their
feelings for Krishna with others.[65] Bhakti is depicted in the Purana, states
Matchett, as both an overpowering emotion as well as a way of life that is
rational and deliberately cultivated.[66] Mirabai and other 15th- to 17th-
century Bhakti movement poets drew
The Purana presents seven teachers and their hagiographic stories—describing their inspiration, in part, from the
legends and ideas in Bhagavata
for example Kapila, the Samkhya philosopher, as someone who was born as a
Purana.[62]
full grown adult, who teaches his mother that to reach liberation, she must have
bhakti, jnana (wisdom), and vairagya (dispassion), with bhakti being the most
important.[67] Other teachers such as Narada and Shukadeva described in the Purana, however, present Bhakti with less
prominence, and emphasize Advaita philosophy and Jnana yoga instead but then add that adoring Hari (Krishna) has the same
liberating benefits.[68]
Samkhya
Surendranath Dasgupta describes the theistic Samkhya taught by Kapila in the Bhagavata as the dominant philosophy in the
text.[69] In the Bhagavata, Kapila is described as an avatar of Vishnu, born into the house of Kardama in order to share the
knowledge of self-realization and liberation. Kapila's Samkhya is taught by him to his mother Devahuti in Book Three, and by
Krishna to Uddhava in Book Eleven.[70] Samkhya in the Bhagavata is presented somewhat differently from in other classical
Samkhya texts.[71] It describes Brahman, or Bhagavan, as creating all beings within his Self in latent form—then, on its own
initiative, bringing itself into Maya and falling "under the influence of its own power". This is in contrast to classical Samkhya,
where the impulse for creation is "inherent in primal nature", or prakriti.[70]

The treatment of Samkhya in the Bhagavata is changed by the text's emphasis on devotion.[70] In Chapter Eleven, Krishna
describes the world as an illusion, and the individual as dreaming, even while in the waking state. He gives Samhkhya and Yoga
as the way of overcoming the dream, with the goal of Samhkhya as Bhagavan himself in the aspect of Krishna.[70]

Advaita
The Bhagavata frequently discusses the merging of the individual soul with the Absolute Brahman, or "the return of Brahman
into His own true nature", a distinctly advaitic or non-dualistic philosophy of Shankara.[5][8][9] The concept of moksha is
explained as Ekatva (Oneness) and Sayujya (Absorption, intimate union), wherein one is completely lost in Brahman (Self,
Supreme Being, one's true nature).[48] This, states Rukmani, is proclamation of "return of the individual soul to the Absolute and
its merging into the Absolute", which is unmistakably advaitic in its trend.[48] In the same passages, the Bhagavata includes a
mention of Bhagavan as the object of concentration, thereby preserving its character of being a Bhakti book.[48]

The Bhagavata Purana parallels in many passages the ideas of Nirguna Brahman and non-duality of Adi Shankara.[9] For
example,

The aim of life is inquiry into the Truth, and not the desire for enjoyment in heaven by performing religious rites,
Those who possess the knowledge of the Truth, call the knowledge of non-duality as the Truth,
It is called Brahman, the Highest Self, and Bhagavan.

— Sūta, Bhagavata Purana 1.2.10-11, Translated by Daniel Sheridan[72]

Scholars describe this philosophy as built on the foundation of non-dualism speculations in Upanishads, and term it as "Advaitic
Theism".[9][73] The term combines the seemingly contradictory beliefs of a personal God that can be worshiped with a God that
is immanent in creation and in one's own self. God in this philosophy is within, is not different from the individual self, states
Daniel Sheridan, and transcends the limitations of specificity and temporality. He describes Advaitic Theism as a "both/and"
solution for the question of whether God is transcendent or immanent in relation to creation, where God is identical with Self and
the Universe, and credits the Bhāgavata with a "truly creative religious moment" for introducing this philosophy.[9] The text
suggests that God Vishnu and the soul (Atman) in all beings is one.[8]

Bryant states that the monism discussed in Bhagavata Purana is certainly built on the Vedanta foundations, but not exactly the
same as the monism of Adi Shankara.[74] The Bhagavata asserts, according to Bryant, that the empirical and the spiritual universe
are both metaphysical realities, and manifestations of the same Oneness, just like heat and light are "real but different"
manifestations of sunlight.[74]

Social equality

Gopis and Krishna on Love

In the sociology of the Bhagavata Purana, writes
Edwin Bryant, those with malicious and evil intent
are first destroyed, but even they are involuntarily
liberated because they constantly think of Krishna
and devote their life to destroying him.[77] The
implicit message thus is, states Bryant, that Krishna
is forgiving regardless of "one's past actions and
sins", and "anyone and everyone is eligible to
engage voluntarily in the process of bhakti yoga and
attain the goal of pure devotion, irrespective of caste,
social status, race or gender".[77][78] In several
chapters, the text states that the Bhagavata is a
means for women to seek spiritual liberation, with
some verses suggesting that expressing their sensual desires is one path to such devotion.[79]
The Gopis (milkmaids) said to Krishna:
Some love back those loving, some do the contrary of this,
and some love neither, Oh! please explain this to us truly.
Krishna replied:
Mutual love is essentially about mutual gain,
thus is neither dharmic nor genuinely friendly.
Truly compassionate and dharmic lovers are those,
who love without being loved in return.
—Bhagavata Purana 10.32.16 - 10.32.18[75][76]

Some scholars disagree that the Bhagavata Purana was a socially and sexually revolutionary text, states Coleman; rather it may
reflect a conservative ideology where women in the form of Gopis amorously chase the divine Krishna who is represented as a
man, and the liberation of Gopis is actually fleeting despite their praise in the text as the most blessed of devotees for love.[75]
Many scholars, however, view the Bhagavata as a remarkably early literary work that questions and discusses social and gender
norms in the 5th to 10th-century India.[75]

The Bhagavata Purana is "strongly heterodox" in its philosophy, states Sheridan, but this is unlikely to have been because of the
last author of presently surviving manuscripts.[56] The language, the theme and the legends are consistently inclusive socially
speaking and extravagant in the text, suggesting that all its authors must have accepted this premise, a theme of social equality
that is found in the entire Puranas genre of texts.[56] The text teaches bhakti is available and effective for everyone regardless of
their gender, caste or race.[80] The Bhagavata also suggests that the poorest can do bhakti, with Krishna saying to Rukmini in
chapter 10.60, "we are poor and we are always the favourites of poor persons."[81]

The text, in Book 7, describes the legend of a bhagavata (devotee) named Prahlada.[10][82] He is described as a boy full of
virtues, but who is born to a demon king who is persecuting people for their independent and different religious beliefs in favor of
Vishnu. Prahlada disagrees with his father, resists him, and pursues what he feels is right. In this legend, and many others, the text
challenges presumption and stereotypes about a person based on birth and heredity, as well as encourages the readers through the
character of Prahlada to resist threats, harassment and indoctrination from anyone.[82] The Purana, state Gupta and Valpey,
implies that virtues and vices are an individual's attributes, and you must see a person for who they are, rather than assume they
simply follow their parents because of hereditary reasons.[82]

Dharma
The Purana conceptualizes a form of Dharma that competes with that in the Vedas, suggesting that Bhakti ultimately leads to
Self-knowledge, Moksha (salvation) and bliss.[13] Before the Bhagavata text, the earliest mention of Bhakti is found in the
Shvetashvatara Upanishad verse 6.23,[83][84] but scholars such as Max Muller state that the word Bhakti appears only once in this
Upanishad; that it, being in one last verse of the epilogue, could have been a later addition, and that the context suggests that it is
a panentheistic idea and not theistic.[85][86] Scholarly consensus sees bhakti as a post-Vedic movement that developed primarily
during the Epics and Puranas era of Indian history.[87] The Bhagavata Purana develops the Bhakti concept more elaborately,[88]
proposing "worship without ulterior motive and with kind disposition towards all" as Dharma.[89][90] The text calls it bhagavata-
dharma, including in its scope intellectual and emotional devotion as well as Advaita Vedanta ideas.[91]
The legends of Bhagavata Purana discuss and describe Dharma through
examples. The text does not subscribe, state Gupta and Valpey, to contextless
"categorical notions of justice or morality", but suggests that "Dharma depends
on context".[92] The text considers the reality of the world divided, continuously
challenged by the struggle between good and evil, threatened by some despite
better intentions of others. In Chapter 15 of Book 7, the Bhagavata identifies
different forms of these destructive, negative and chaotic contexts, naming Upa-
dharma (heretical polemics, misrepresentation), Vi-dharma (obstruction,
disruption), Abhasa-dharma (semblance, pretension), and Chala-dharma
(deceit) as examples of Adharma. In a positive or neutral context, states the
Bhagavata, ethics and moral behavior must be adhered to; when persistently
persecuted by evil, anything that reduces the strength of the "evil and poisonous A relief showing Krishna with flute, at
circumstances" is good.[92] That which is motivated by Bhakti, that which the 16th-century temple in Hampi,
furthers Bhakti, that which enables Bhakti is Dharma in the text – Bhakti is the Karnataka. This is an iconic
golden standard of Dharma.[92] representation of Krishna in the
Bhagavata and other Puranas.

Yoga
The Bhagavata Purana describes all steps of the Yoga practice, and characterizes Yoga as Bhakti, states Sharma, asserting that the
most important aspect of the Yoga is the spiritual goal.[93] The text dedicates numerous chapters to it, in various books. The 10th
chapter of Book 11 begins with a declaration that Siddhi results from concentrating one's mind on Bhagavan Krishna, which thus
resonates but substitutes the concept of "personal god" in Yogasutras of Patanjali, yet also contrasts with Patanjali's view where
Siddhi is considered powerful but an obstacle to Samadhi and towards the goal of Self-knowledge, inner peace and
moksha.[93][94]

In other chapters of the text, Śuka describes different meditations on the gross and subtle aspects of Krishna, in a way that is
similar to the Yoga Sutras of Patanjali.[48] Several passages describe the merging of the individual soul with the Absolute
Brahman, the yoga approach for Self-knowledge and discovery of divine-Oneness-within in Advaita and other schools of Hindu
philosophy. However, the Bhagavata Purana, in explaining the method of reaching that goal, recommends the object of
concentration as Krishna, thus folding in Yoga as a form of bhakti and the "union with the divine".[48][95] Bryant describes the
synthesis of ideas in Bhagavata Purana as,

The philosophy of the Bhagavata is a mixture of Vedanta terminology, Samkhyan metaphysics and devotionalized
Yoga praxis. (...) The tenth book promotes Krishna as the highest absolute personal aspect of godhead – the
personality behind the term Ishvara and the ultimate aspect of Brahman.

— Edwin Bryant, Krishna: A Sourcebook[96]

Sheridan as well as Pintchman affirm Bryant's view, with the added remark that the Vedantic view emphasized in the Bhagavata
is non-dualist described within a reality of plural forms.[37][97]

Contents and plot

Narrators and setting

The Purana includes an introduction in Book 1 that describes its own creation. The Bhagavata describes itself as a recounting of
events by the storyteller Ugrasrava Sauti (Sūta) to Shaunaka and other sages assembled in the Naimisha Forest. Sūta asserts in
this preface that Veda Vyasa was feeling unsatisfied, even after he had distilled the knowledge of the Vedas into the Epic
Mahabharata. The sage Narada advises Vyasa that his unease was because he
had not yet described the highest goal of knowledge.[6][98] Vyasa thereafter
writes the twelve books for the text, and teaches it to his teenage son Shuka. The
text describes Shuka as a precocious Advaita Vedantin who, rather than
becoming a Krishna devotee, entered sannyasa and renounced the world as a
child.[99]

Sūta recounts the first recital of Vyasa's work, given by Vyasa's son Shuka to
King Parikshit, the grandson of Arjuna, who is dying. After hearing the recital,
Parikshit dies.[98] The first nine books are mostly associated with Vishnu and the
classical form of bhakti-yoga, wherein various ancient tales of bhagavata
(devotees of Vishnu) are enumerated.[6] These bhagavata include Prahlad,
Gajendra, Dhruva, Bali, Uddhava, Vidura, Maitreya, Parikshit, Priyavrata,
Akrura, Ajamila and others.[100] It is the tenth book that unfolds the largest
chapter and the masterpiece poetic work of the text, through and on Krishna.[6]
The Bhagavata in verse 1.1.3 describes itself as the "ripened fruit of the Vedic
tree", as the "essence of all the Vedas and Epic" in verses 1.2.3 and 1.3.42.[6] The Bhagavata includes numerous
stories about Krishna's childhood
playfulness and pranks – A painting
Interconnected plot by Raja Ravi Varma

Many of the legends are interconnected in the Bhagavata.[101] The text asserts
that gods (Deva), demons (Asuras) and human beings do things, and behave in
good or evil ways, in part, because of their past experiences and their innate evolving natures (Guṇa). For example, the evil
behavior of demon king Hiranyakasipu in Book 7 against his own son Prahlada for the latter's Bhakti for Vishnu, is not simply
because of demonic Tamasic Guṇa but also because Vishnu in his Varaha avatar had killed Hiranyakasipu's brother Hiranyaksa in
Book 2.[101] Hiranyakasipu turned vengeful against Vishnu ever since then, and had refused to consider whether Hiranyaksa
deserved to die.[101]

The Varaha story in Book 2 is in turn linked to the story of Jaya and Vijaya, who had inadvertently annoyed four child sages in
another legend of Book 3.[101] These stories are further linked to legends of Ravana, Kumbhakarna, Sisuphala and Dantavakra
elsewhere. Evil has temporal reasons that feed it, good has spiritual reasons that sustain it, and the cosmic tension between the
two, with cycles of conflict, weaves through the chapters in the twelve books of the Bhagavata Purana.[101] The underlying
metamessage of the text to the devotees of Vishnu, state Gupta and Valpey, is that "one must refuse to see others as enemies,
instead understand others, resist the wrong by resorting to a life of spirituality and that reading the text has the power to
transform".[102]

Books

Book 1
The first book introduces the Bhagavata, with a dialogue between sages Vyasa and Narada.[103][104] They discuss the weaknesses
in Bhagavad Gita, calling it the philosophical treatise of the Mahabharata, thereafter declare that the monism and oneness taught
in Upanishads is too abstract. They assert that there is a need for a practical document that distills the means to a spiritual life.
Sage Narada then states, "when he meditated on Self in Self through Self", he realized that he was doing Bhakti.[105] Inspired by
the statements of Narada, claims the text in Book 1 chapter 18, Vyasa wrote Bhagavata Purana. He taught the entire Purana to
Shuka, his young son. Shuka leaves to roam the world, and meets King Parikshit, who is dying on the bank of the river Ganges.
Several sages gather around him, including teenage Shuka. Parikshit asks Shuka what he should do to prepare for death. Shuka's
reply constitutes the Book 1 and 2 of the Bhāgavata.[10][106] The Book 1 is notable for the following pivotal statement of Krishna
sects' theology,

कृ ण तु भगवा वयम ्
Krishna is Bhagavan, himself

— Bhagavata Purana, 1.3.28[106]

Book 2
In Book 2, Shuka tells Parikshit that when one is in terminal condition and expecting death, one should become free of the fear of
death by letting go of all attachments to likes and dislikes, home and family.[107] They should do Yoga, by controlling the breath
and mind and concentrating on the sacred Aum. Shuka explains the theory of Yoga, of bhakti, different types of dharana, the
nature of Bhagavan, and the liberation for a yogi. Book 2 also presents a theory of cosmology, a theory on human anatomy; how
human body has all the Vedic gods in it (Sattvic), ten sensory organs and abilities (Rajasic), five material elements (Tamasic), as
well as the universal Purusha.[108] A definition of Dharma and pleasant fruits of a moral-ethical life are listed in Chapter 7 and 8
of Book 2. In response to Parikshit's questions, Shuka describes creation and the avatars of Vishnu, concluding with a description
of the ten characteristics of a Purana.[10] The relationship of Vishnu to the Atman (soul, self) in every living being is summarized
as follows:

Vishnu is Atman in each being; manifests Himself in action, consciousness and will.
Brahma is the propelling power in the involution of beings, which gives them their physical body.
Vishnu is the propelling force in the evolution of beings through Prana (life), sensation, intellect and lastly the
spiritual faculties.

— Bhagavata Purana, 2.9[109]

Book 3
Vidura's pilgrimage to various holy places provides the backdrop for the stories
and spiritual teachings in Book 3. Near the Yamuna River Vidura meets
Uddhava, who gives him the news of the Kurukshetra War and about Krishna's
death in chapter 1 of Book 3 (this is described in greater detail in chapters 30 and
31 of Book 11 as well).[110] Vidura then meets the sage Maitreya, and learns
how the world came into being, the divisions of time, and other subjects of
cosmology. The story of the birth of Hiranyakasipu and Hiranyaksa is told,
including the latter's death at the hands of Varaha, the boar avatar of Vishnu. An
important story is the tale of Devahuti and her son Kapila, thus folding in one
version of the teachings of the Samkhya school of Hindu philosophy. Kapila's
Samkhya teachings help lead her to final liberation.[10]

The third book also includes Maitreya's theory on the qualities of Supreme Truth
The ten avatars of Vishnu
(Clockwise, from top left): Matsya, and of the individual self (atman, soul).[111]
Kurma, Varaha, Vamana, Krishna,
Kalki, Buddha, Parshurama, Rama
Book 4
and Narasimha, (in centre) Krishna
The story of Daksha and his sacrifice is told, in which he mocks Shiva in front of Dakshayani—his own daughter and Shiva's
consort—resulting in Dakshayani's self-immolation, which later came to be known by one of her names, Sati. The legend of
Dhruva's penance and devotion to Vishnu is also recounted, along with the related story of king Prithu. The book ends with the
recounting of the renunciation and liberation of the Pracetas brothers.[10]

Book 5
This is the story of Manu's sons and their children, which eventually leads to Bharata and a description of the world, the sun and
its course, the moon and the planets, the regions below the earth, and the twenty-eight hells (naraka).[10]

Book 6
Book 6 includes the story of Ajāmila, who reached the supreme abode Vaikuntha as a reward for uttering the syllables "Na-ra-ya-
na" on his deathbed, even though he was only intending to call his son. The story of the son of the Praceta brothers is also
recounted, along with the victory of Indra over Viśvarūpa. Book 6 ends with the birth of the Maruts.[10] Like all books, the
chapters of Book 6 are suffused with mythology, cosmology and philosophical themes, such as the nature of existence before the
origin of universe,

In the beginning, I alone existed. There was nothing else as internal or external. I was pure consciousness and
unmanifested. There was deep sleep everywhere.

— Bhagavata Purana 6.4.46-6.4.47, Translated by Daniel Sheridan[112]

Book 7
The main portion of the seventh book is dedicated to the well known story of
Hiranyakaśipu, his son Prahlada, and the death of Hiranyakaśipu at the hands of
Narasimha, an avatar of Vishnu. This version expands on the story of Prahlada as
told in the Vishnu Purana, and is the form that is most commonly told in Hinduism.
Prahlada is considered a great devotee of Vishnu, and describes the process of bhakti
toward Bhagavan.[10]

In Book 7, the text states that "Bhagavan is one without a second".[113] This view
resonates the nondualism in other Books of the text, such as the Book 3, which
declares that Brahma is the "immutable self" in all beings, all pervading and
synonymous with the Supreme Deity (Vishnu).[113] This same reverence for the
non-dual perspective is restated in Chapter 15 of Book 7 as,

The sage shaking off the three dream states (waking, dreaming,
A relief at 12th-century
dreamless sleeping) through understanding himself meditates on the
Chennakesava Temple,
non-duality of thought (bhavadvaitam), the non-duality of action
Karnataka depicting the Purana
(kriyadvaitam), and the non-duality of substance (dravyadvaitam). story of Narasimha killing
Hiranyakashipu who persecutes
— Bhagavata Purana 7.15.62-7.15.63, Translated his subjects and son for their
by Daniel Sheridan[114] religious beliefs.

Book 8
The description of the six past Manvantaras (ages or time periods of Manu) and the seven future ages of Manu includes several
stories, many involving the avatars of Vishnu. Nine chapters are dedicated to the oft told story of Vishnu's Vamana (dwarf) avatar
and his defeat of Bali. The story of the churning of the ocean of milk[115] is also recounted, which is done with the help of the
Kurma avatar of Vishnu.[10]

Book 9
The current age of Manu is described at length, including the traditional history of the Solar Dynasty founded by Ikshvaku and
the Lunar Dynasty of Pururavas. A long history of dynasties is described—Panchala, Magadha, Kuru, Anu, Druhyus, Turvasu,
and others—leading up to the Yadu dynasty and the birth of Krishna to his parents Vasudeva and Devaki.[10]

Book 10
The tenth book, dedicated to Krishna, is responsible for the widespread
popularity of the Bhagavata Purana. Book Ten includes the most enduring
images and stories of Krishna: the mischievous child who steals butter; the God
as a child who holds the entire universe within himself; the boy who can slay
demons and move an entire mountain with one finger; the cowherd who is the
love of all the gopis, making them leave all their duties to follow him.[116]
Krishna and the gopis, from a
Bhagavata Purana manuscript The tenth book is by far the
c. 1760. lengthiest, taking up almost one
quarter of the entire Bhagavata.
While the Mahabharata and the
Bhagavad Gita show Krishna in various roles as teacher and diplomat, book 10
shows Krishna simply engaging in lila, or divine and intimate play with his
devotees. It presents this intimate relationship with God as the highest goal of human
existence.[118]
The Bhagavata has inspired
numerous Vaishnava temples
Book 11 across India. In Assam, these
include hundreds of Hindu
The Book describes how after a long period of peace and prosperity, carelessness
monasteries named Satra (shown
and excesses within the society make people forget self responsibility, and the need above). These include a hall
to follow or protect dharma.[10] Infighting between good people begins, ultimately called Nam Ghar where prayer
leading to the destruction of the Yadava dynasty. The end comes through a senseless singing, dancing and village
but brutal internecine war, described as a drunken fight, which kills all the Yadavas meetings are held.[117]
along with Krishna's human form. The last chapter describes Krishna's ascent to
Vaikuntha. Book eleven also includes the so-called Uddhava Gita, the last discourse
of Krishna, which he addresses to Uddhava.[10] Book 11 section 7-9 discusses the pastimes and realizations of an Avadhuta.

Book 12
The last book of the text includes various prophesies, such as the future rulers of Magadha, along with the evils of Kali Yuga and
how the Kali Yuga cycle will end with the destruction of the world (pralaya) to give birth to a new Yuga cycle. The main story
ends with the death of King Parikshit. The book includes a summary of the entire Bhagavata, a standard description of the ten
characteristics of a Purana that is found in every Puranic text, three chapters about the life of Markandeya, and the assurance that
it is the greatest among puranas.[10]
 From the beginning to the end, with its [Bhagavata] stories of detachment,
it delights the saintly and the virtuous with the nectar of its many Lila of Hari.
The essence of all the Upanishads this is, the sign that the Brahman [God] is one's Atman [Soul within],
it illuminates the One Reality without a second, it is the means of attaining Kaivalya [liberation].

— Bhagavata Purana, 12.13.11 - 12.13.12[119]

Theatre, dance and festivals

The legendary tales of the Bhagavata Purana have inspired many dances, theatre and festivals in India. Anjum
Bharti (above) choreographing in Kathak style, while a group performs Rasa Lila in Manipuri style.

The Bhagavata Purana played a key role in the history of Indian theatre, music and dance, particularly through the tradition of
Ras and Leela. These are dramatic enactments about Krishna's childhood, teenage and adult life. The themes range from his
innocent frolics as a child, to his expressing his confusion and doubts about approaching girls, to him wooing and romancing
gopis (girls in the cow herding community) who meet him secretly thus getting in trouble with their parents, to his intimacy with
beloved Radha, to his playing flute while saving the world from all sorts of troubles and thus preserving the dharma.[26] Some of
the text's legends have inspired secondary theatre literature such as the eroticism in Gita Govinda.[120] While Indian dance and
music theatre traces its origins to the ancient Sama Veda and Natyasastra texts,[121][122] the Bhagavata Purana and other
Krishna-related texts such as Harivamsa and Vishnu have inspired numerous choreographic themes.[123]

Many Ras plays dramatise episodes related in the Rasa Panchadhyayi ("Five chapters of the Celestial Dance"; Book 10, chapters
29–33) of Bhagavatam.[124] The purana accords a metaphysical significance to the performances and treats them as religious
ritual, fusing the daily life with spiritual meaning, thus representing a good honest happy life or Krishna-inspired drama depicting
the same as a form of cleansing the hearts of faithful actors and listeners. The Bhagavata Purana grants the singing and dancing
and performance of any part of it, as an act of remembering the dharma in the text, as a form of para bhakti (supreme devotion)
towards the Lord. To remember Krishna at any time and in any art, asserts the text, is to worship the good and the divine.
Bhagavatam also encouraged theatrical performance as a means to propagate the faith (BP 11.11.23 and 36, 11.27.35 and 44,
etc.), and this led to the emergence of several theatrical forms centred on Krishna all across India.[125]

The Book 10 of Bhagavatam is regarded as the inspiration for many classical dance styles such as Kathak, Odissi, Manipuri and
Bharatnatyam.[126] Bryant summarizes the influence as follows,
 The Bhagavata ranks as an outstanding product of Sanskrit literature. Perhaps more significantly, the Bhagavata
has inspired more derivative literature, poetry, drama, dance, theatre and art than any other text in the history of
Sanskrit literature, with the possible exception of the Ramayana.

— Edwin Bryant, Krishna: A Sourcebook[127]

The stories in the Bhagavata Purana are also the legends quoted by one generation to the next in Vaishnavism, during annual
festivals such as Holi and Diwali.[128][129]

Commentaries
The Bhagavata Purana is one of the most commented texts in Indian literature. Over eighty medieval era Bhasya (scholarly
reviews and commentaries) in Sanskrit alone are known, and many more commentaries exist in various Indian languages.[3]

The oldest exegetical commentary presently known is Tantra-Bhagavata from the Pancaratra school. From the modern age there
is the commentary by Madhvacharya (c. 13th century CE) titled Bhagavata Tatparya Nirnaya, then later Sridhara Swami's
Sridhariyam written in the 15th century CE.[130]

Other commentaries are: Hanumad-Bhasya, Vasana-bhasya, Sambandhoki, Vidvat-kamadhenu, Tattva-dipika, Paramahamsa-

priya, and Suka-hridaya. Vopadeva wrote the Mukta-phala and the Hari-lilamrita. Vijayadhvaja composed the Pada-ratnavali.
Viraraghava also edited The Bhāgavata-Candrika (from Ramanuja's school). Other works are the Subodhini by Vallabha and
Bhakti-ratnavali by Visnupuri. Among the Gaudiya Vaishnava commentaries there are Jiva Goswami's Tattva-sandarbha (16th
century CE), the Sarartha Darsini by Vishvanatha Chakravarti (17th century), the Dipikadipani by Radharamana, and
Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati's Gaudiya-bhasya (20th century). A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has written a multi-volume
edition that includes English translation and commentary of striking Purports, which has been translated into more than 40
languages. The Tattva Sandarbha commentary of the 16th-century Vaishnava scholar Jiva Goswami analyzes the text, with the
remark that the Bhagavata is written in a popular story style which is easy to read, and simpler to understand than other important
ancient Indian philosophical literature.[131] The text is a Cakravartin (sovereign) of all Puranas, states Goswami, not only
because of its poetic excellence, simple language and direct style, but also because it "contains the essential meaning of all the
Vedas, Itihasas and other Puranas, because it rests on the Brahma Sutras, and because it is complete".[131]

The Bhagavata has been rendered into various Indian and non-Indian languages. A version of it is available in almost every
Indian language, with forty translations alone in the Bengali language.[3] From the eighteenth century onwards, the text became
the subject of scholarly interest and Victorian disapproval,[127] with the publication of a French translation followed by an
English one. The following is a partial list of translations in chronological order:

A Telugu version was rendered by the poet Pothana in the 15th century Andhra Maha Bhagavatam. It is
considered as "the crown jewel of Telugu literature".
The transcreated work, known as the Bhagavata of Sankaradeva, is the primary theological source for
Mahapurushiya Dharma in the Indian state of Assam. Sankaradeva (1449-1568 CE) drew inspiration chiefly from
the Bhagavata and he himself undertook the task of rendering of the major portion, namely Books I, II, III, VI, VII,
VIII, IX, X, XI and XII.[132] Besides the rendering, he composed a large number of works with materials from the
Bhagavata such as the Kirttana Ghosha, which is an anthology (kavya-kosh) of more than two dozen epics of
various magnitudes. Most of the poems of the Kirttana are renderings or adaptations from the Bhagavata
Purana.[133] His Nimi Nava Siddha Samvada is a doctrinal treatise based on Book XI of the Bhagavata. His
Anadi Patana is mainly an adaptation from Book III of the Bhagavata. The Gunamala, the 'Garland of Praises (for
Lord Krishna)' written by Sankaradeva is a little handbook capturing in racy, rhyming and sonorous verses, the
essence of the Bhagavata Purana.[134] Within the compass of a single laudatory verse, the poet recounts many
incidents from Krishna's life making them easy to remember. This 'pocket-Bhagavata' is a sacred text for all
Assamese Vaisnavas and is often placed in the pedestal or the Guru-Asana (sacred throne) in the congregational
prayer-house called Namghar as the object of veneration.
A condensed Srimad Bhagavatam in Sanskrit, the Narayaneeyam, was composed by Melpathur Bhattathiri of
Kerala in 1586.
 The 16th-century Saint Eknath of Paithan- Maharashtra wrote a scholarly commentary on the 11th Book of the
Shrimad Bhagavatam named "Ekanathi Bhagavata" in Marathi, the vernacular language of the Indian state of
Maharashtra.
The first translation of the Bhagavata into French was made by a Jesuite educated Indian Maridas Poullé in
1769. Another French translation was done by Eugene Burnouf in 1840.
A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada has written a multi-volume edition that includes English translation and
commentary, which has been translated in more than 40 languages.[135]
Swami Tapasyananda has written an English translation in four volumes.
Swami Prabhavananda wrote an English version that is part translation, part summary and paraphrase, titled The
Wisdom of God: Srimat Bhagavatam.
Asthan Vidwan Motaganahalli Ramashesha Sastri was the first person to translate Bhagavata Purana into
Kannada. For this translation, a detailed foreword replete with historical references was given by renowned
Indian historian S. Srikanta Sastri.[136]
Gita Press has a two-volume English and Hindi translation (with Sanskrit text and English translation). Gita Press
also has published the Oriya translation, Srimadbhagavata Mahapurana, of Åtivadi Jagannatha Dasha, which is
regarded as the oldest Indian vernacular translation from Sanskrit. However, this is debatable since the exact
dates of other competing translations of Pothana in Telugu and Shankaradeva in Asamese are not documented,
although these translators were contemporaries of Jagannatha Dasha.
Kamala Subramanian has written a concise version of this book in English.
Another translation of Book X was published on Writers Workshop in 1997, transcreated by Nandini Nopani and
P. Lal.
Edwin Bryant published an English translation of Book X in 2004, through Penguin Books.[137]
Bibek Debroy published a complete English translation in three volumes through Penguin Books India in 2019.

See also
Bhagavan Krishna
Vishnu Nava rasas
Bhakti Puranas
Narayana Vedanta

Notes
1. Krishna, states Daniel Sheridan, subsumes the identities of Vishnu, Narayana, Purusha, Ishvara, Hari, Vasudeva,
Janardana and others.[61]

References
1. Thompson, Richard L. (2007). The Cosmology of the Bhagavata Purana 'Mysteries of the Sacred Universe (http
s://books.google.com/books?id=3TZmDSr-1msC&pg=PA10). Motilal Banarsidass Publishers. p. 10. ISBN 978-
81-208-1919-1.
2. Dominic Goodall (1996), Hindu Scriptures, University of California Press, ISBN 978-0520207783, page xli
3. Bryant 2007, pp. 112
4. (Sheridan 1986, p. 53)
5. Kumar Das 2006, pp. 172–173
6. Bryant 2007, pp. 111–113
7. Prem Lata (1989). Chaitanya Mahaprabhu (https://books.google.com/books?id=HL4cAAAAMAAJ). Ess Ess
Publications. p. 7. ISBN 9788170001003.
8. Brown 1983, pp. 553–557
9. Sheridan 1986, pp. 1–2, 17–25
10. Rocher 1986, pp. 138–151
11. Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey (2013), The Bhagavata Purana, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-
0231149990, pages 3-19
12. Constance Jones and James Ryan (2007), Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Infobase, ISBN 978-0816054589, page
474
13. Kumar Das 2006, p. 174
14. Barbara Holdrege (2015), Bhakti and Embodiment, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415670708, page 114
15. Barbara Holdrege (2015), Bhakti and Embodiment, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415670708, pages 109-110
16. Robert Van Voorst (2007). Anthology of World Scriptures. p. 28. ISBN 978-1111810740.
17. (Sheridan 1986, p. 6)
18. Ludo Rocher (1986), The Puranas, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 978-3447025225, pages 138-149
19. Richard Thompson (2007), The Cosmology of the Bhagavata Purana 'Mysteries of the Sacred Universe', Motilal
Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120819191
20. Jean Filliozat (1968), Tamil Studies in French Indology, in Tamil Studies Abroad, Xavier S Thani Nayagam, pages
1-14
21. Merriam-Webster's Encyclopedia of Literature (1995 Edition), Article on Puranas, ISBN 0-877790426, page 915
22. Alex Wayman (1974), Two Traditions of India: Truth and Silence Philosophy East and West, Vol. 24, No. 4, pages
389-403
23. AA MacDonell, Bhagvata (http://dsal.uchicago.edu/cgi-bin/romadict.pl?query=bhagavat&display=simple&table=m
acdonell) A Practical Sanskrit Dictionary, University of Chicago
24. Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey (2013), The Bhagavata Purana, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-
0231149990, pages 185-200
25. ML Varadpande (1987), History of Indian Theatre, Vol 1, Abhinav, ISBN 978-8170172215, pages 98-99
26. Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey (2013), The Bhagavata Purana, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-
0231149990, pages 162-180
27. Sheridan 1986, pp. 1–16
28. Matchett 2001, pp. 107
29. Gopal, Madan (1990). K.S. Gautam (ed.). India through the ages. Publication Division, Ministry of Information
and Broadcasting, Government of India. p. 76.
30. Haberman & Rūpagōsvāmī 2003, p. 65
31. Edwin Francis Bryant and Maria Ekstrand (2004), The Hare Krishna Movement: The Postcharismatic Fate of a
Religious Transplant, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0231122566, page 15
32. Chatterji, Suniti Kumar. "The Eka-sarana Dharma of Sankaradeva: The Greatest Expression of Assamese
Spiritual Outlook" (http://atributetosankaradeva.org/greatest_expression.pdf) (PDF). Retrieved 29 October 2012.
33. SN Sarma (1966), The Neo-Vaisnavite Movement and the Satra Institution of Assam, Gauhati University,
ISBN 978-8173310263, page 27, Quote: "the Chapters of the Bhagavata Purana, where the Pancharatra
theology is discussed, have been omitted by Assamese translators"
34. "...the influence of the Bhagavata Purana in forming the theological backbone of Assam Vaishnavism in quite
clear and the monistic commentary of Sridhara Swami is highly popular amongst all sections of Vaishnavas" SN
Sarma (1966), The Neo-Vaisnavite Movement and the Satra Institution of Assam, Gauhati University, ISBN 978-
8173310263, page 26
35. Edwin Francis Bryant and Maria Ekstrand (2004), The Hare Krishna Movement, Columbia University Press,
ISBN 978-0231122566, pages 48-51
36. Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey (2013), The Bhagavata Purana, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-
0231149990, pages 149-150
37. Tracy Pintchman (1994), The rise of the Goddess in the Hindu Tradition, State University of New York Press,
ISBN 978-0791421123, pages 132-134
38. Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey (2013), The Bhagavata Purana, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-
0231149990, pages 151-155
39. Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey (2013), The Bhagavata Purana, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-
0231149990, pages 157-159
40. John Holt (2004), The Buddhist Visnu, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-0231133227, pages 13-31
41. Ludo Rocher (1986), The Puranas, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 978-3447025225, pages 110-111
42. Gail Adalbert (1968), Buddha als Avatara Visnus im Spiegel der Puranas, Deutscher Orientalistentag, Vol. 17,
pages 917-923
43. TS Rukmani (1993), Researches in Indian and Buddhist Philosophy (Editor: RK Sharma), Motilal Barnarsidass,
ISBN 978-8120809949, pages 217-224, Quote (page 218): "The Bhagavata emphasizes yoga as bhakti and it is
in the method of realization of its spiritual goal that yoga becomes important".
44. Beach 1965, pp. 168–69
45. (Sheridan 1986, p. 7)
46. Constance Jones and James Ryan (2007), Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Infobase, ISBN 978-0816054589, page 74
47. Ludo Rocher (1986), The Puranas, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 978-3447025225, pages 168-169
48. Rukmani 1993, pp. 217–218
49. Sheridan 1986, p. 10–12
50. van Buitenen, J. A. B (1966). "The Archaism of the Bhagavata Purana". In Milton Singer (ed.). Krishna: Myths,
Rites, and Attitudes. pp. 23–40.. Reprinted in van Buitenen 1996, pp. 28–45
51. Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey (2013), The Bhagavata Purana, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-
0231149990, page 13
52. Bryant 2007, pp. 5–9, 113–114
53. Matchett 2003, pp. 129–144
54. Estimated dates given by some notable scholars include: R. C. Hazra – 6th century, Radhakamal Mukherjee –
9th–10th century, Farquhar – 10th century, Nilakanta Sastri – 10th century, S. N. Dasgupta – 10th century Kumar
Das 2006, pp. 172–173
55. Sheridan 1986, p. 5–11
56. Sheridan 1986, pp. 11–14
57. Edwin Bryant (2002), The Date and Provenance of the Bhagavata Purana, Journal of Vaishnava Studies, Vol 2,
Issue 1, pages 51-80
58. Ludo Rocher points out that modern Puranic studies have mistakenly seen the Puranas as manuscripts to study,
when "fundamentally, they do not belong in books," but are texts whose chapters and verses were deleted, new
ones inserted and verses revised over the centuries, well into the modern era. He writes that, "It is not possible to
set a specific date for a Purana as a whole."Rocher 1986, pp. 59–67, 103
59. Ludo Rocher (1986), The Puranas, Otto Harrassowitz Verlag, ISBN 978-3447025225, pages 59-67
60. Gregory Bailey (2003), The Study of Hinduism (Editor: Arvind Sharma), The University of South Carolina Press,
ISBN 978-1570034497, pages 141-142
61. Sheridan 1986, p. 53.
62. Ronald MacGregor (1984), A History of Indian Literature (Editor: Jan Gonda), Otto Harrassowitz Verlag,
ISBN 978-3447024136, pages 74-75
63. Cutler 1987, p. 1
64. Bryant 2007, p. 117
65. Matchett 1993, p. 103
66. Matchett 1993, p. 104
67. Matchett 1993, p. 106
68. Matchett 1993, pp. 104–106
69. Dasgupta 1949, p. 30
70. Sheridan 1986
71. Dasgupta 1949, p. 24
72. Sheridan 1986, p. 23 with footnote 17;
Sanskrit: काम य ने ि य ीितल भो जीवे त यावता | जीव य त विज ासा नाथ य ेह कमिभः ||
वदि त त विवद त वं य ानम यम ् | े ित परमा मे ित भगवािनित श ते || Source: Bhagavata Purana (http://s
anskritdocuments.org/doc_purana/bhagpur.html?lang=sa) Archive
73. Brown 1998, p. 17
74. Edwin Bryant (2004), Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God: Srimad Bhagavata Purana Book X, Penguin,
ISBN 978-0140447996, pages 43-48
75. Tracy Coleman (2010), Viraha-Bhakti and Strīdharma: Re-Reading the Story of Kṛṣṇa and the Gopīs in the
Harivaṃśa and the Bhāgavata Purāṇa (https://www.jstor.org/stable/23044958), Journal of the American Oriental
Society, Vol. 130, No. 3, pages 385-412
76. Sanskrit: (Source (http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_purana/bhagpur.html?lang=sa))
ीगो य ऊचुः
भजतोऽनुभज ये क एक एति पययम ् |
नोभय भज ये क एत ो ूिह साधु भोः ||
ीभगवानुव ाच
िमथो भजि त ये स यः वाथका तो मा िह ते |
न त सौहृ दं धमः वाथ थ ति ना यथा ||
भज यभजतो ये वै क णाः िपतरौ यथा |
धम िनरपवादोऽ सौहृ दं च सुम यमाः ||
77. Edwin Bryant (2004), Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God: Srimad Bhagavata Purana Book X, Penguin,
ISBN 978-0140447996, pages 36-37
78. Graham Schweig (2005), Dance of Divine Love, Princeton University Press, ISBN 978-0691114460, pages 11-12
79. Daniel Sheridan (1981), Devotion in the Bhāgavata Purāna and Christian Love: Bhakti Agape Eros (https://dx.doi.
org/10.1017/S0360966900018892), Horizons, Cambridge University Press, Vol. 8, Issue 2, pages 260-278
80. TR Sharma (1993), Psychological Analysis of Bhakti, Love Divine: Studies in Bhakti and Devotional Mysticism
(Editor: Karel Werner), Routledge, ISBN 978-0-7007-0235-0, pages 85–86
81. Kumar Das 2006, pp. 176–177
82. Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey (2013), The Bhagavata Purana, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-
0231149990, pages 25-31
83. Paul Deussen, Sixty Upanishads of the Veda, Volume 1, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120814684, page 326
84. Max Muller, Shvetashvatara Upanishad (https://archive.org/stream/upanishads02ml#page/266/mode/2up), The
Upanishads, Part II, Oxford University Press, page 267
85. Max Muller, The Shvetashvatara Upanishad (https://archive.org/stream/upanishads02ml#page/n33/mode/2up),
Oxford University Press, pages xxxiv and xxxvii
86. Paul Carus, The Monist (https://books.google.com/books?id=96sLAAAAIAAJ) at Google Books, pages 514-515
87. Karen Pechilis Prentiss (2014), The Embodiment of Bhakti, Oxford University Press, ISBN 978-0195351903,
page 17, Quote: "Scholarly consensus today tends to view bhakti as a post-Vedic development that took place
primarily in the watershed years of the epics and Puranas."
88. Norman Cutler (1987), Songs of Experience, Indiana University Press, ISBN 978-0253353344, pages 1-5
89. Kumar Das 2006, pp. 173–175
90. Bryant 2007, p. 382
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(Editor: Karel Werner), Routledge, ISBN 978-0-7007-0235-0, pages 103-107
92. Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey (2013), The Bhagavata Purana, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-
0231149990, pages 8-10, 30-32
93. Rāma Karaṇa Śarmā (1993), Researches in Indian and Buddhist Philosophy, Motilal Barnarsidass, ISBN 978-
8120809949, pages 218-221
94. Rukmani 1993, pp. 220, 224
95. Bryant 2007, pp. 117–118
96. Bryant 2007, pp. 114
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98. Matchett 1993, pp. 95–116
99. Matchett 1993, pp. 100–101
100. Matchett 1993, p. 100
101. Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey (2013), The Bhagavata Purana, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-
0231149990, pages 23-30
102. Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey (2013), The Bhagavata Purana, Columbia University Press, ISBN 978-
0231149990, pages 28-30
103. Ramesh Menon (2011), Bhagavata Purana, Rupa, ISBN 978-8129116611, pages 1-11
104. Matchett 1993, pp. 97–98
105. A Study of the Bhagvata Purana (https://archive.org/stream/studyofbhagavata00benaiala#page/4/mode/2up)
Pürnendu Narayana Sinha, Freeman & Co, Princeton University Archives
106. Bryant 2007, p. 114
107. A Study of the Bhagvata Purana (https://archive.org/stream/studyofbhagavata00benaiala#page/6/mode/2up)
Pürnendu Narayana Sinha, Freeman & Co, Princeton University Archives, page 6-7
108. A Study of the Bhagvata Purana (https://archive.org/stream/studyofbhagavata00benaiala#page/12/mode/2up)
Pürnendu Narayana Sinha, Freeman & Co, Princeton University Archives, page 12-14, 20-22
109. A Study of the Bhagvata Purana (https://archive.org/stream/studyofbhagavata00benaiala#page/18/mode/2up)
Pürnendu Narayana Sinha, Freeman & Co, Princeton University Archives, page 19
110. Matchett 1993, p. 99
111. Sheridan 1986, p. 14
112. Sheridan 1986, pp. 19 with footnote 9
113. Sheridan 1986, pp. 20–22
114. Sheridan 1986, pp. 22–23 with footnote 15
115. Jarrow 2003, p. 14
116. Matchett 2001, pp. 127–137
117. Bryant 2007, pp. 165–166
118. Bryant 2007, pp. 113–115
119. Sanskrit: आिदम यावसाने षु वै रा या यानसंयुतम ्
ह रलीलाकथा ाता मृतानि दतस सुरम ्
सववे दा तसारं य ा मै क वल णम ्
व वि तीयं ति ठं कैव यै क योजनम;् Archive (http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_purana/bhagpur.html?lang=sa);
KS Sastri (1975), Archive of Bhagavata Purana (https://archive.org/stream/SrimadBhagavatamCanto12withMultip
leSanskritCommentaries/sb_canto_12#page/n343/mode/2up), Book 12 with 11 Sanskrit Commentaries, pages
337-341
120. Graham Schweig ( 2007), Encyclopedia of Love in World Religions (Editor: Yudit Kornberg Greenberg), Volume
1, ISBN 978-1851099801, pages 247-249
121. Beck 1993, pp. 107-108.
122. PV Kane, History of Sanskrit Poetics, Motilal Banarsidass, ISBN 978-8120802742 (2015 Reprint), pages 10-41
123. Varadpande 1987, pp. 92–94
124. Datta 2006, p. 33
125. Varadpande 1987, pp. 95–97
126. Varadpande 1987, p. 98
127. Bryant 2007, pp. 118
128. Usha Sharma (2008), Festivals In Indian Society, Mittal, ISBN 978-8183241137, page 177
129. Selina Thielemann (1998), Sounds of the Sacred Music in India, APH, ISBN 978-8170249900, pages 96-98
130. "Archived copy" (https://web.archive.org/web/20120917084901/http://www.orissa.gov.in/e-magazine/Orissarevie
w/April2006/engpdf/sanskrit_scholars_of_orissa.pdf) (PDF). Archived from the original (http://orissa.gov.in/e-mag
azine/Orissareview/April2006/engpdf/sanskrit_scholars_of_orissa.pdf) (PDF) on 17 September 2012. Retrieved
2012-12-17.
131. Barbara Holdrege (2015), Bhakti and Embodiment, Routledge, ISBN 978-0415670708, pages 149-150
132. "The Bhagavata of Sankaradeva; Assamese rendering of the Bhagavata Purana" (http://www.atributetosankarad
eva.org/Srimad_Bhagavata.htm). atributetosankaradeva. 2 October 2008. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
133. "The Holy Kirttana" (http://www.atributetosankaradeva.org/kirttana.htm). atributetosankaradeva. 29 March 2012.
Retrieved 26 December 2012.
134. "Gunamala" (http://www.atributetosankaradeva.org/Gunamala_trans.pdf) (PDF). atributetosankaradeva. 16 April
2008. Retrieved 26 December 2012.
135. Archive 1 (http://www.vedabase.com/en/sb), or Archive 2 (http://www.vedabase.net/sb/en)
136. Sastri Kannada Translation (http://www.srikanta-sastri.org/preface-bhagavata-mahapurana/4582942965) 1932
137. Edwin Bryant (2004), Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God: Srimad Bhagavata Purana Book X, Penguin,
ISBN 978-0140447996

Bibliography
Beach, Milo Cleveland (1965). "A Bhāgavata Purāṇa from the Punjab Hills and related paintings". Bulletin of the
Museum of Fine Arts. 63 (333): 168–177. JSTOR 4171436 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/4171436).
Beck, Guy (1993). Sonic theology: Hinduism and sacred sound (https://books.google.com/?id=cY1Xw1ZlIeQC&p
g=PA183). University of South Carolina Press. pp. 183–184. ISBN 978-0-253-35334-4.
Brown, Cheever Mackenzie (1998). The Devī Gītā: the song of the Goddess; a translation, annotation, and
commentary (https://books.google.com/?id=OxayHczql9EC&pg=PA17). SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-3940-1.
Brown, C. Mackenzie (1983). "The Origin and Transmission of the Two "Bhāgavata Purāṇas": A Canonical and
Theological Dilemma". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. 51 (4): 551–567. doi:10.1093/jaarel/li.4.551
(https://doi.org/10.1093%2Fjaarel%2Fli.4.551). JSTOR 1462581 (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1462581).
Bryant, Edwin Francis (2007). Krishna: A Sourcebook (https://books.google.com/?id=HVDqCkW1WpUC). Oxford
University Press US. ISBN 978-0-19-514891-6.
Cutler, Norman (1987). Songs of Experience (https://books.google.com/?id=veSItWingx8C&pg=PA1). Indiana
University Press. p. 1. ISBN 978-0-253-35334-4.
Dasgupta, Surendranath (1949). A history of Indian philosophy. IV: Indian pluralism. Cambridge University Press.
Datta, Amaresh (2006). The Encyclopaedia Of Indian Literature (https://books.google.com/?id=ObFCT5_taSgC).
vol. 1. Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 978-81-260-1803-1.
Haberman, David L.; Rūpagōsvāmī (2003). Indira Gandhi National Centre for the Arts (ed.). The
Bhaktirasāmṛtasindhu of Rūpa Gosvāmīn (https://books.google.com/?id=DsRb6gjUa1oC). Motilal Banarsidass
Publ. ISBN 978-81-208-1861-3.
Jarow, Rick (2003). Tales for the dying: the death narrative of the Bhāgavata-Purāṇa (https://books.google.com/?
id=8URUz0jhH3gC). SUNY Press. ISBN 978-0-7914-5609-5.
Kumar Das, Sisir (2006). A history of Indian literature, 500–1399 (https://books.google.com/?
id=BC3l1AbPM8sC). Sahitya Akademi. ISBN 978-81-260-2171-0.
Matchett, Freda (1993). "The Pervasiveness of Bhakti in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa" (https://books.google.com/?id=p
YahlaJCLnYC&pg=PA95). In Werner, Karel (ed.). Love Divine: Studies in Bhakti and Devotional Mysticism.
Routledge. pp. 95–116. ISBN 978-0-7007-0235-0.
Matchett, Freda (2001). Kṛṣṇa, Lord or Avatāra? (https://books.google.com/?id=1oqTYiPeAxMC). Routledge.
ISBN 978-0-7007-1281-6.
Matchett, Freda (2003). "The Purāṇas" (https://books.google.com/?id=qSfneQ0YYY8C&pg=PA129). In Flood,
Gavin D. (ed.). The Blackwell companion to Hinduism. Wiley-Blackwell. pp. 129–144. ISBN 978-0-631-21535-6.
Rocher, Ludo (1986). The Puranas. Wiesbaden : Harrassowitz. pp. 138–151. ISBN 978-3-447-02522-5.
 Rukmani, T. S. (1993). "Siddhis in the Bhāgavata Purāṇa and in the Yogasutras of Patanjali – a Comparison" (htt
ps://books.google.com/?id=i1ffdTIbNJkC&pg=PA217). In Wayman, Alex (ed.). Researches in Indian and Buddhist
philosophy: essays in honour of Professor Alex Wayman. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 217–226. ISBN 978-81-208-
0994-9.
Sheridan, Daniel (1986). The Advaitic Theism of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa (https://books.google.com/?id=qrtYYTjY
FY8C). Columbia, Mo: South Asia Books. ISBN 978-81-208-0179-0.
van Buitenen, J. A. B (1996). "The Archaism of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa" (https://books.google.com/?id=U-sC1Gkw
H7sC&pg=PA28). In S.S Shashi (ed.). Encyclopedia Indica. New Delhi: Anmol Publications. pp. 28–45.
ISBN 978-81-7041-859-7.
Varadpande, Manohar Laxman (1987). History of Indian theatre (https://books.google.com/?
id=SyxOHOCVcVkC). vol. 3. Abhinav Publications. ISBN 978-81-7017-221-5.

Further reading
Mani, Vettam. Puranic Encyclopedia. 1st English ed. New Delhi: Motilal Banarsidass, 1975.
C Mackenzie Brown (1983), The Origin and Transmission of the Two "Bhāgavata Purāṇas": A Canonical and
Theological Dilemma (https://www.jstor.org/stable/1462581), Journal of the American Academy of Religion, Vol.
51, No. 4, pages 551-567
Edwin Bryant (2004), Krishna: The Beautiful Legend of God: Srimad Bhagavata Purana Book X, Penguin,
ISBN 978-0140447996
Sanjukta Gupta (2006), Advaita Vedanta and Vaisnavism: The Philosophy of Madhusudana Sarasvati,
Routledge, ISBN 978-0415395359
Ravi Gupta and Kenneth Valpey (2013), The Bhagavata Purana: Sacred Text and Living Tradition, Columbia
University Press, ISBN 978-0231149990
Ithamar Theodor (2015), Exploring the Bhagavata Purana, IB Tauris, ISBN 978-1784531997

External links
English

Anand Aadhar version (http://bhagavata.org/).

The Translation of Sankaradeva's Gunamala - the 'pocket-Bhagavata' (http://www.atributetosankaradeva.org/Gun
amala_trans.pdf) (Assam version)
Translation of Sankaradeva's Veda-Stuti (The Prayer of the Vedas), Bhagavata, Book X, from Sankaradeva's
Kirttana Ghosa, the 'Bhagavata in miniature' (http://atributetosankaradeva.org/Veda_Stuti.pdf)
Bhagavata Purana Research Project (http://www.ochs.org.uk/research/bhagavata-purana-research-project),
Oxford University
A prose English translation of Srimad Bhagavatam (http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/012507010), MN Dutt
(Open access limited to the US and parts of Europe)
Bhagavata Purana Research Project (http://atmanirvana.com/category/srimad-bhagavatam/), (Srimad
Bhagavatam English Version)

French

Légendes morales de l'Inde: empruntées au Bhagavata Purana (http://catalog.hathitrust.org/Record/009025964),

A. Roussel
Krichna et sa doctrine. Bhagavat dasam askand, dixième livre du Bhagavat Pourana (http://babel.hathitrust.org/c
gi/pt?id=mdp.39015074796700;view=1up;seq=9), Thèodore Pavie

MP3 audio

Bhagavatam recital in Telugu by Chaganti Koteswara Rao (http://english.srichaganti.net/BhagavatamHome.aspx)

Indian languages

GRETIL etext: The transliterated Sanskrit text for the entire work (https://web.archive.org/web/20081012022829/
http://www.sub.uni-goettingen.de/ebene_1/fiindolo/gretil/1_sanskr/3_purana/bhagp/bhp1-12u.htm)
Bhagavata Purana (http://sanskritdocuments.org/doc_purana/bhagpur.html?lang=sa) (Sanskrit)
Searchable transliterated PDF file of the entire Bhagavata-Purana from sanskritweb.net (http://www.sanskritweb.
net/sansdocs/bhagpur.pdf)
Discourse in kannada for all 18000 shloka's by Dr. V. Prabhanjacharya (http://www.vyasamadhwa.org/upanyasa/
PoornaBhagavata)
List of Maha Bhagavatha palm leaf manuscript bundles kept in the Tirumandhamkunnu temple, Kerala

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