The Bhāgavata Purāṇa (भागवतपुराण), also known as Śrīmad Bhāgavata Mahā Purāṇa, Śrīmad Bhāgavatam or Bhāgavata, literally meaning Divine-Eternal Tales of The Supreme Lord) is one of the maha (Sanskrit: 'great') Puranic texts of Hinduism, with its focus on bhakti (religious devotion) to Supreme God Vishnu (Narayana), primarily focusing on Krishna. The Bhagavata Purana includes many stories well known in Hinduism, including the various avatars of Vishnu and the life and pastimes of his complete incarnation, Krishna or Svayam Bhagavan. It was the first Purana to be translated into a European language, with three French translations made also between 1840 and 1857. The Padma Purana categorizes Bhagavata Purana as a Sattva Purana (Purana which represents goodness and purity). Veda Vyasa is accredited for being the author of Bhagavata Purana. The Bhagavata Purana is considered to be the purest and greatest of all the puranas since it invokes devotion towards Lord Vishnu and his various incarnations, primarily focusing on Krishna since he was the complete incarnation of Lord Vishnu. The Bhagavata Purana truly reveals the means for becoming free from all material work, together with the processes of pure transcendental knowledge, renunciation and devotion to Lord Vishnu and anyone who seriously tries to understand, hears and chants the verses of the Bhagavata Purana with devotion to Lord Vishnu, becomes completely liberated from material bondage and attains moksha or liberation from the cycle of births and deaths in the material world. The Bhagavata Purana declares Lord Vishnu (Narayana) as Para Brahman Supreme Lord who creates unlimited universes and enters each one of them as Lord of Universe. Lord Vishnu engages in creation of 14 worlds within the universe as Brahma when he deliberately accepts rajas guna. Lord Vishnu himself sustains, maintains and preserves the universe as Vishnu when he accepts sattva guna and annihilates the universe at the end of maha-kalpa as Rudra when he accepts tamas guna. The Bhagavata is a product of oral tradition, its extant version usually dated between 4th or 10th century CE. The intense and personal bhakti described in the Bhagavata is directed toward Krishna as Vishnu in human form. The tenth book (or canto), which is dedicated to Krishna, takes up about one quarter of the entire Bhagavata. It includes the most comprehensive collection of stories about the life of Krishna, showing him in all the stages and conditions of human life. It also includes instruction in the practice of bhakti, an analysis of bhakti, and descriptions of the different types of bhakti. Many Vaishnavas consider Srimad Bhagvatam to be non-different from Krishna and to be the literary form of Krishna. The Bhagavata takes the form of a story recounting Vyasa's work being recited for the first time by his son Shuka to the dying King Parikshit, who owes his life to Krishna. Longing to hear of Krishna before he dies, Parikshit hears the Bhagavata recited by Shuka, including questions by the king and replies by the sage, over the course of seven days. The Bhagavata is widely recognized as the best known and most influential of the Puranas, and is sometimes referred to as the "Fifth Veda" along with itihasa and other puranas. It is unique in Indian religious literature; for its emphasis on the practice of bhakti, compared to the more theoretical bhakti of the Bhagavad Gita; for its redefining of dharma; and for the extent of its description of God in a human-like form. It is also the source for many of the popular stories of Krishna's childhood told for centuries in the Indian subcontinent. The Bhagavata declares itself as the essence of Vedanta: "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." (12.13.15) The Vishnu Purana, along with the Bhagavad Gita, are the main sources of scriptural authority used by Vaishnavas for demonstrating the devotion to Hari. An oft-quoted verse from the Bhagavata is used as a representational statement by some Krishna sects to show that Krishna is "Bhagavan Svayam", or God himself: "These [other incarnations] are amsha, or kala, partial incarnations, but krishnas tu bhagavan svayam, 'Krishna is Bhagavan, God himself.'" (1.3.28). But many vedic scholars say that krishnas tu bhagavan svayam is stated because Krishna is the complete avatar of Mahavishnu. In Vishnu Purana also, Krishna is described as an incarnation of Vishnu . Various other incarnations of Vishnu like Rama are also often referred as ″Bhagavan″.

• published: 15 May 2015
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