Overview of Śrīmad

Bhāgavatam
 yair édåçé bhagavato gatir ätma-väda
ekäntato nigamibhiù pratipäditä naù
tuñyantv adabhra-karuëäù sva-kåtena nityaà
ko näma tat pratikaroti vinoda-pätram

How can such persons, who have rendered unlimited service by

explaining the path of self-realization in relation to the
Supreme Personality of Godhead, and whose explanations are
given for our enlightenment with complete conviction and Vedic
evidence, be repaid except by folded palms containing water for
their satisfaction? Such great personalities can be satisfied
only by their own activities, which are distributed amongst
 THE ONLY QUALIFICATION
His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami
Prabhupada

Çrémad-Bhägvatam begins with the

definition of the ultimate source. It
is a bona fide commentary on the
Vedänta-sütra by the same author, Srila
Vyäsadeva, and gradually it develops
into nine cantos up to the highest
state of God realization. The only
qualification one needs to study this
great book of transcendental knowledge
is to proceed step by step cautiously
and not jump forward haphazardly like
with an ordinary book. It should be
gone through chapter by chapter, one
after another.

The reading matter is so arranged so

that one is sure to become a God-
realized soul at the end of finishing
the first nine cantos. The Tenth Canto
is distinct from the first nine cantos
 What is
Çrémad-
Bhägavatam?
idaà bhägavataà näma
puräëaà brahma-
sammitam

This Çrémad-Bhägavatam is
the literary incarnation
of God…
1.3.40
Çrémad-Bhägavatam is the
spotless Puräëa. It is
most dear to the
Vaiñëavas because it
describes the pure and
supreme knowledge of the
paramahaàsas. This
Bhägavatam reveals the
means for becoming free
from all material work,
together with the
processes of
transcendental knowledge,
renunciation and
devotion. Anyone who
seriously tries to
understand Çrémad-
 Çrémad-Bhägavatam
is....

 the greatest of the

Puräëas
 the spotless Vedic
literature
 the literary incarnation
of God
 the essence of Vedanta
philosophy
 the king of all
literatures
 the perfect description
of how to love God
The authorized approach
to the Bhägavatam is to
first carefully read the
first nine cantos, which
establish the greatness
of the Supreme Lord, His
universal form, His
material and spiritual
energies, His creation
of the cosmos, His
incarnations, and so on.
Reading the first two
cantos is like
contemplating the lotus
feet of the Lord, and as
one gradually
progresses, one looks
upon the Lord's various
bodily limbs, until
finally one sees His
smiling face in the
THE ONENESS OF LORD KRISHNA AND BHAGAVATAM

Padma Purana, Uttar Khand

pädau yadéyau prathama-dvitéyau
tåtéya-turyau kathitau yad-ürü
näbhis tathä païcama eva ñañöho
bhujäntaraà dor-yugalaà tathänyau
kaëöhas tu räjan navamo yadéyo
mukhäravindaà daçamaà praphullam
ekädaço yaç ca laläöa-paööaà
çiro ’pi yad dvädaça eva bhäti
“The Bhägvatam’s First and Second Cantos
are Lord Krishna’s feet, and the Third
and Fourth Cantos are His thighs. The
Fifth Canto is His navel, the Sixth
Canto is His chest, and the Seventh and
Eighth Cantos are His arms. The Ninth
Canto is His throat, the Tenth His
blooming lotus face, the Eleventh His
forehead, and the Twelfth His head.
namämi devaà karuëä-nidhänaà
tamäla-varëaà suhitävatäram
apära-saàsära-samudra-setuà
bhajämahe bhägavata-svarüpam
“I bow down to that Lord, the ocean of
mercy, whose color is like that of a
tamala tree and who appears in this
world for the welfare of all. I worship
12 His crown
11 His forehead
10 His smiling
face
9 His neck
7-8 His two strong
arms
6 His chest
5 His waist
3-4 His thighs
 CANTO SUMMARIES
1-2 Pada Padma
3-7 The first Manvantar, Svayambhuva Manu and
his children
8 The other 13 Manus in this one day of
Brahma.
9 Our current Manu, Vaivasvata Manu. We're
about noon time in the day of Brahma. This
includes discussion of the Kings who descend
from him and in this line appeared 5,000
years ago, Krsna.
10 Krsna's Pastimes in Vrndavana, Mathura and
Dvaraka
11 Disappearance of Krsna, final instructions
etc.
 kåñëe sva-
dhämopagate
dharma-jïänädibhiù
saha
kalau nañöa-dåçäm
eña
puräëärko
'dhunoditaù
This Bhägavata Puräëa
is as brilliant as the
sun, and it has arisen
just after the
departure of Lord Kåñëa
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 Puräëa.

1.3.43
There is need of a
clue as to how
humanity can become
one in peace,
friendship and
prosperity with a
common cause.
Çrémad-Bhägavatam
will fill this
need, for it is a
cultural
presentation for
the
respiritualization
of the entire human
What can one hope
to achieve from
studying
Çrémad
Bhägavatam?
Çrémad-Bhägavatam
2.8.4

Persons who hear

Çrémad-Bhägavatam
regularly and are
always taking the
matter very
seriously will
have the
Personality of
Godhead Çré Kåñëa
manifested in
their hearts
Whatever knowledge
exists in the world
is present in Çrémad-
Bhägavatam. It
includes literature,
poetry, astronomy,
philosophy, religion,
and love of Godhead….
Çrémad-bhägavataà
pramäëam amalam. If
one simply reads
Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
he gains the
topmost education,
for if one studies
Çrémad-Bhägavatam
he will be well
versed in every
subject matter.

TQK 5: The Vision of

Lotuses
If you study Çrémad-
Bhägavatam perfectly,
then all your
education is complete.
You don’t require any
other book to read;
you get from Çrémad-
Bhägavatam all
material and spiritual
knowledge, and at the
end, Kåñëa. This is
the profit.

Çrémad-Bhägavatam 2.3.22
Los Angeles, June 19, 1972
CANTO I
Preface We divide the First
Introducti Canto into four major
on
Suta to the
parts
1
2 Sages
3
4 Narada to
5 Vyasa
6
7
8
9 Disappearance of Sri
10 Krsna
11
12 And His associates
13
14
15
16 Appearance of Śrīmad
17 Bhāgavatam
18
19
 CANTO I
Introductio
n

The Introduction to the

Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is
primarily a 35-page
biography of the life of
Lord Caitanya, the ideal
preacher of Śrīmad
Bhāgavatam. Without His
mercy it is very
difficult to understand
the Bhagavatam.
CANTO I

Canto One is a Preface to the

entire Śrīmad Bhāgavatam. In a
Preface we find:

1)Purpose of the book,

2)Qualifications of the Speaker,

3)Qualifications of the Listener

and

4)Circumstances under which the

book was produced.
CANTO I

Who is the principal Speaker of

the Bhāgavatam?
Sukadeva Goswami.
Who is the principal listener?
Maharaja Pariksit.
Under what circumstances was it
produced?
Arrival of the era of Kali.
What is the purpose of Śrīmad
Bhāgavatam?
Give shelter in Kali-yuga.
CANTO I Chapters One to Three are
Preface
Introducti questions by the Sages of
on
1
Naimisaranya. They ask
2 Suta Goswami and he
3
answers.
CANTO I
Preface
Introducti
on
1
2
3
Chapters Four to Six are
4 the meeting of Vyasadeva
5
6 and Narada Muni.

Vyasadeva was unhappy even

after compiling all the
Vedas, but Narada
instructed him to compile
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and that
would satisfy his
hankerings.
CANTO I Chapters Seven to Fifteen
Preface
Introducti
are the disappearance of
on Krsna and His associates
1
2
and the Appearance of
3 Śrīmad Bhāgavatam and Its
4 associates.
5
6 Krsna’s mission of
7
incarnation was finished
8 with the battle of
9
10 Kuruksetra. So He enjoyed
11 pastimes for several
12
13 years and then He and His
14 associates disappeared:
15
Disappearance of the
Pandavas, disappearance
7 Immediately Chapters 7-15,
8 after Disappearance of Krsna
Kuruksetra and Appearance of
9 Battle.
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam, can
10 also be divided into
Birth of
11 Pariksit and three more sections.
12 travel to
This gives us maybe six
Dvaraka.
13 natural study modules
14 Many years in the First Canto
later.
15
CANTO I
Preface
Introducti
on
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11 Chapters Sixteen to
12
13 Nineteen are the meeting
14 of Maharaja Parikshit,
15
the personality of Kali
16 and Sukadeva Goswami.
17
18 This sets the scene for
19
CANTO I In Summary
Preface
Introducti
on
1 Suta to the
2 Sages
3
4 Narada to
5 Vyasa
6
7
8
9 Disappearance of Sri
10 Krsna
11
12 And His associates
13
14
15
16 Appearance of Śrīmad
17 Bhāgavatam
18
19
CANTO II We divide the Second
Canto into three parts
1
2 Sukadeva to
Pariksit
3

4
5 Brahma to
6 Narada
7

8
9 Visnu to
Brahma
10
CANTO In the Second Canto
II
1 Sukadeva Goswami
2
starts his
3
instructions to
Maharaja Pariksit:
Om Namo bhagavate
vasudevaya.
In three chapters he
explains:
1)Pantheism
(brahman)
2)Mysticism
(paramatma )
3)Mono-theism
CANTO After hearing the
II
1 complete science of God,
2
3
Maharaja Prakshit was
very satisfied, but he
4
5 wanted to hear more,
6 especially how God
7 creates, maintains and
anhilates this material
world.
Sukadeva Goswami agrees,
and after offering
preliminary prayers in
Chapter Four, in Chapters
Five through Seven he
CANTO After hearing the
II
1 Bhagavatam that Brahma
2
3
spoke to Narada,
4 Maharaja, Pariksit is
5
6 even more enlivened so he
7 asks to hear even more.
8
9
Sukadeva Goswami then
10
explains the original
Śrīmad Bhāgavatam as
Visnu spoke it to Lord
Brahma.
The Canto ends with the
Sages asking about the
meeting of Vidura and
CANTO II In Summary
1
2 Sukadeva to
Pariksit
3

4
5 Brahma to
6 Narada
7

8
9 Visnu to
Brahma
10
Cantos 3-9 discuss Manu-
avatars and other Avatars
(incarnations).
9
8
7
6 Manvantara
5 s
4
3
11 Krishna’s
10 Pastimes

Cantos Ten and Eleven discuss

Krsna’s pastimes. Krsna is not an
avatar of God. He is avatara-
avatari, the source of all
incarnations.
To appreciate His full personality
we must first see His different
partial incarnations. These are
presented in Cantos 3-9.
Types of
Avataras
Purusa-avataras
They are like
the Prison
Minister, Prison
Warden & Prison
Guards. They
are always with
the material
world.
Types of
Avataras
Lila-avataras – They come to
the “prison” sometimes, giving
a certain lesson.
Types of
Avataras
Manu-avataras – They are in
charge of the universe for a
fixed period during each day of
Brahma.
Brahma is the demigod in charge
of the universe, but he is not
managing things from moment to
moment.
Just as on a ship there is a
Manu-
avataras
Brahma is the head of this
universe. In each of his days
there are fourteen Manu-avatars
one after another. The Srimad
Bhagavatam takes us through
them in Cantos 3-9.
Along with them we see also, so
many other incarnations of
Krsna until, in the 10th Canto
we can understand Krsna
9 Our Manu, Vaivasvata-
manu
8 The other thirteen
Manus
7
6
5 The first Manu,
Svayambhuva, and his
4 children
Details of Cantos
3 3 – 9
The Manu-avataras
Cantos Three -
Seven
Svayambhuva-manu and his wife
Satarupa had five children.
Three daughters: Devahuti, Akuti
and Prasuti (The Uti sisters)
Two sons: Uttanapada and Priya-
vrata
Cantos Three –
Seven
7 11-15 Narada & Yuddhisthira> VAD
1-10 K equal to everyone (Hiranyakaspiu)

Analysis by Chapter 18-19 Daksa> 60 Girls> Hiranyaksa

Groups 14-17 Vrtasura
6 7-13 Indra/V’rupa/Tvasta/Vrta
4-6 Pracetas> Daksa>
1-3 Hells Avoided (Ajamila)

14-26 SG & MP (Forest of ME, Hells)

7-13 Bharata & Rahugana (Forest of ME)
5 4-6 Rsabhadeva
1-3 Priyavrata > Agnidhra> Nabhi>

24-31 Puranjana> Pracetas

15-23 Prthu
13-14 Dhruva> 6> Anga> Vena
4 8-12 Uttanapada> Dhruva
2-7 Prasuti & Daksa > Sati
1 Akuti & Ruci, Devah. Daughters

20-33 Devahuti & Kardama> Kapila

3 13-19 Varaha avatara
5-12 Maitreya & Vidura
1-4 Vidura & Uddhava
Canto Eight
Analysis by Chapter
Groups
In Canto Eight 15-24 Bali, Vamanadeva,
Maharaja Pariksit 8 Matsya
13-14 Manus 8-14
asks about the 5-12 Manus 5-6 (Kurma,
thirteen other Mohini)
Manus. 1-4 Manus 1-4 (Gajendra)
Canto Nine
Analysis by Chapter
Groups

14-24 Ila> Pururava>>Yadu (Krsna-

Balarama) & Puru, Kurus
In Canto Nine we
6-12 VM> Iksvaku>>Saubhari Muni>>
hear about the Sagar>>Rama
current Manu, 4-5 Ambarisa
Vaivasvata Manu.
1-3 Vaivasvata Manu> Ila, Sukanya
His descendents x Cyavana, Nabhi
include Krsna.
Canto Ten &
Eleven
Analysis by Chapter
Groups

30-31 Dep Yadus & Krsna

Canto Ten are Krsna’s 7-29 Final Instruction to
pastimes in Vrndavana,
11 Uddhava
2-5 Final Yud'str (Nava
Mathura, Dvaraka, and yogendras)
Canto Eleven His
departure.
10 50-90 Dvaraka
41-49 Mathura,
4-40 Vrndavana
Canto Twelve
Analysis by
Chapters

Canto Twelve
finishes the
dynasty of
Vaivas-vata Manu, 7-13 Summary & Glories of
and includes a 1 SB
4-6 Departure of M.
summary of Srimad 2 Parikshit
1-3 Conclude Dynasty
Did you notice that Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is presented five
times in the first two Cantos?
1) Visnu to Brahma.
2.8-10
2) Brahma to Narada.
2.5-7
3) Narada to Vyasa.
1.4-6
4) Vyasa to Sukadeva Goswami.
Doesn’t occur!
5) Sukadeva Goswami to Maharaja Pariksit (and Suta
Goswami)
2.1-3
6) Suta to the Sages of Naimisaranya.
1.1-3
…this is bhägavata-
dharma, to study
Çrémad-Bhägavatam
very carefully.
Every knowledge is
there. Kià vä
parair éçvaraù.
There is no need of
reading any other
book. ….
 The perfection of
life is to understand
God. So by reading
Çrémad-Bhägavatam,
sadyaù, immediately,
hådy avarudhyate
éçvaraù: "The Supreme
Personality of
Godhead, by simply
reading Bhägavatam...
He is already there,
but immediately He is
realized." That is
perfection of life.