The Glories of Srimad-Bhagavatam

Verse 1 (bhagavata.12.13.1)

सूत उवाच यं ब्रह्मा वरुणेन्द्ररुद्रमरुतः स्तुन्वन्ति दिव्यैः स्तवै- र्वेदैः साङ्गपदक्रमोपनिषदैर्गायन्ति यं सामगाः । ध्यानावस्थिततद्गतेन मनसा पश्यन्ति यं योगिनो यस्यान्तं न विदुः सुरासुरगणा देवाय तस्मै नमः ॥ १ ॥

sūta uvāca yaṁ brahmā varuṇendra-rudra-marutaḥ stunvanti divyaiḥ stavair vedaiḥ sāṅga-pada-kramopaniṣadair gāyanti yaṁ sāma-gāḥ dhyānāvasthita-tad-gatena manasā paśyanti yaṁ yogino yasyāntaṁ na viduḥ surāsura-gaṇā devāya tasmai namaḥ

Suta said: Him whom Brahma, Varuna, Indra, Rudra, and the Maruts praise with divine hymns; whom the reciters glorify through the Vedas together with their auxiliary limbs, pada, krama, and Upanishads; whom the singers of the Sama Veda sing to; whom yogis behold with minds fixed and absorbed in meditation upon Him; whose limit neither gods nor demons have ever found — to that Supreme God, I offer my obeisances.

Verse 2 (bhagavata.12.13.2)

पृष्ठे भ्राम्यदमन्दमन्दरगिरिग्रावाग्रकण्डूयना- न्निद्रालोः कमठाकृतेर्भगवतः श्वासानिलाः पान्तु वः । यत्संस्कारकलानुवर्तनवशाद् वेलानिभेनाम्भसां यातायातमतन्द्रितं जलनिधेर्नाद्यापि विश्राम्यति ॥ २ ॥

pṛṣṭhe bhrāmyad amanda-mandara-giri-grāvāgra-kaṇḍūyanān nidrāloḥ kamaṭhākṛter bhagavataḥ śvāsānilāḥ pāntu vaḥ yat-saṁskāra-kalānuvartana-vaśād velā-nibhenāmbhasāṁ yātāyātam atandritaṁ jala-nidher nādyāpi viśrāmyati

May the breaths of the Lord in His tortoise form, grown drowsy from His back being scratched by the great, whirling Mount Mandara's rocky summit, protect you all; and it is in following the pattern set by that very breathing that the tides of the ocean, ebbing and flowing, continue ceaselessly even to this day.

Verse 3 (bhagavata.12.13.3)

पुराणसङ्ख्यासम्भूतिमस्य वाच्यप्रयोजने । दानं दानस्य माहात्म्यं पाठादेश्च निबोधत ॥ ३ ॥

purāṇa-saṅkhyā-sambhūtim asya vācya-prayojane dānaṁ dānasya māhātmyaṁ pāṭhādeś ca nibodhata

Now understand the verse-count of each Purana, the subject and purpose of this one, the manner of giving it as a gift, the glory of such giving, and the fruits of its recitation and the like.

Verse 4 (bhagavata.12.13.4)

ब्राह्मं दशसहस्राणि पाद्मं पञ्चोनषष्टि च । श्रीवैष्णवं त्रयोविंशच्चतुर्विंशति शैवकम् ॥ ४ ॥

brāhmaṁ daśa sahasrāṇi pādmaṁ pañcona-ṣaṣṭi ca śrī-vaiṣṇavaṁ trayo-viṁśac catur-viṁśati śaivakam

The Brahma Purana has ten thousand verses, the Padma fifty-five thousand, the Shri Vishnu Purana twenty-three thousand, and the Shiva Purana twenty-four thousand.

Verse 5 (bhagavata.12.13.5)

दशाष्टौ श्रीभागवतं नारदं पञ्चविंशति । मार्कण्डं नव वाह्नं च दशपञ्च चतुःशतम् ॥ ५ ॥

daśāṣṭau śrī-bhāgavataṁ nāradaṁ pañca-viṁśati mārkaṇḍaṁ nava vāhnaṁ ca daśa-pañca catuḥ-śatam

Shri Bhagavatam has eighteen thousand verses, the Narada Purana twenty-five thousand, the Markandeya nine thousand, and the Agni Purana fifteen thousand four hundred.

Verse 6 (bhagavata.12.13.6)

चतुर्दश भविष्यं स्यात्तथा पञ्चशतानि च । दशाष्टौ ब्रह्मवैवर्तं लैङ्गमेकादशैव तु ॥ ६ ॥

catur-daśa bhaviṣyaṁ syāt tathā pañca-śatāni ca daśāṣṭau brahma-vaivartaṁ laiṅgam ekādaśaiva tu

The Bhavishya Purana has fourteen thousand five hundred verses, the Brahmavaivarta eighteen thousand, and the Linga Purana eleven thousand.

Verse 7 (bhagavata.12.13.7)

चतुर्विंशति वाराहमेकाशीतिसहस्रकम् । स्कान्दं शतं तथा चैकं वामनं दश कीर्तितम् ॥ ७ ॥

catur-viṁśati vārāham ekāśīti-sahasrakam skāndaṁ śataṁ tathā caikaṁ vāmanaṁ daśa kīrtitam

The Varaha Purana has twenty-four thousand verses, the Skanda Purana is declared to be eighty-one thousand one hundred, and the Vamana Purana ten thousand.

Verse 8 (bhagavata.12.13.8)

कौर्मं सप्तदशाख्यातं मात्स्यं तत्तु चतुर्दश । एकोनविंशत्सौपर्णं ब्रह्माण्डं द्वादशैव तु ॥ ८ ॥

kaurmaṁ sapta-daśākhyātaṁ mātsyaṁ tat tu catur-daśa ekona-viṁśat sauparṇaṁ brahmāṇḍaṁ dvādaśaiva tu

The Kurma Purana is declared to have seventeen thousand verses, the Matsya fourteen thousand, the Garuda (Suparna) Purana nineteen thousand, and the Brahmanda Purana twelve thousand.

Verse 9 (bhagavata.12.13.9)

एवं पुराणसन्दोहश्चतुर्लक्ष उदाहृतः । तत्राष्टदशसाहस्रं श्रीभागवतमिष्यते ॥ ९ ॥

evaṁ purāṇa-sandohaś catur-lakṣa udāhṛtaḥ tatrāṣṭadaśa-sāhasraṁ śrī-bhāgavatam iṣyate

Thus the entire collection of the Puranas is said to total four hundred thousand verses; and among these, the eighteen-thousand-verse Shri Bhagavatam is held to be supreme.

Verse 10 (bhagavata.12.13.10)

इदं भगवता पूर्वं ब्रह्मणे नाभिपङ्कजे । स्थिताय भवभीताय कारुण्यात् सम्प्रकाशितम् ॥ १० ॥

idaṁ bhagavatā pūrvaṁ brahmaṇe nābhi-paṅkaje sthitāya bhava-bhītāya kāruṇyāt samprakāśitam

This Bhagavatam was, in the very beginning, mercifully revealed by the Lord to Brahma, who sat upon the lotus growing from His navel, fearful of material existence.

Verse 11 (bhagavata.12.13.11)

आदिमध्यावसानेषु वैराग्याख्यानसंयुतम् । हरिलीलाकथाव्रातामृतानन्दितसत्सुरम् ॥ ११ ॥

ādi-madhyāvasāneṣu vairāgyākhyāna-saṁyutam hari-līlā-kathā-vrātā- mṛtānandita-sat-suram

Filled, from beginning to middle to end, with narrations that foster renunciation, and with the nectar-stream of stories of Hari's pastimes that delight the saintly and the gods alike —

Verse 12 (bhagavata.12.13.12)

सर्ववेदान्तसारं यद ब्रह्मात्मैकत्वलक्षणम् । वस्त्वद्वितीयं तन्निष्ठं कैवल्यैकप्रयोजनम् ॥ १२ ॥

sarva-vedānta-sāraṁ yad brahmātmaikatva-lakṣaṇam vastv advitīyaṁ tan-niṣṭhaṁ kaivalyaika-prayojanam

this text is the very essence of all Vedanta, marked by the oneness of Brahman and the self, devoted wholly to that one non-dual reality, and having liberation alone as its purpose.

Verse 13 (bhagavata.12.13.13)

प्रौष्ठपद्यां पौर्णमास्यां हेमसिंहसमन्वितम् । ददाति यो भागवतं स याति परमां गतिम् ॥ १३ ॥

prauṣṭhapadyāṁ paurṇamāsyāṁ hema-siṁha-samanvitam dadāti yo bhāgavataṁ sa yāti paramāṁ gatim

Whoever, on the full-moon day of the month of Bhadrapada, gives the Bhagavatam as a gift together with a golden lion throne, attains the supreme destination.

Verse 14 (bhagavata.12.13.14)

राजन्ते तावदन्यानि पुराणानि सतां गणे । यावद्भागवतं नैव श्रूयतेऽमृतसागरम् ॥ १४ ॥

rājante tāvad anyāni purāṇāni satāṁ gaṇe yāvad bhāgavataṁ naiva śrūyate ’mṛta-sāgaram

Other Puranas continue to shine in the assembly of the saintly only until this Bhagavatam, that very ocean of nectar, is heard.

Verse 15 (bhagavata.12.13.15)

सर्ववेदान्तसारं हि श्रीभागवतमिष्यते । तद्रसामृततृप्तस्य नान्यत्र स्याद्रतिः क्वचित् ॥ १५ ॥

sarva-vedānta-sāraṁ hi śrī-bhāgavatam iṣyate tad-rasāmṛta-tṛptasya nānyatra syād ratiḥ kvacit

Shri Bhagavatam is indeed regarded as the very essence of all Vedanta; one who has been satisfied by the nectar of its taste can never again find delight in anything else.

Verse 16 (bhagavata.12.13.16)

निम्नगानां यथा गङ्गा देवानामच्युतो यथा । वैष्णवानां यथा शम्भुः पुराणानामिदं तथा ॥ १६ ॥

nimna-gānāṁ yathā gaṅgā devānām acyuto yathā vaiṣṇavānāṁ yathā śambhuḥ purāṇānām idam tathā

As the Ganga is the greatest among rivers, as Achyuta is supreme among the gods, and as Shambhu is foremost among Vaishnavas, so too is this Bhagavatam supreme among the Puranas.

Verse 17 (bhagavata.12.13.17)

क्षेत्राणां चैव सर्वेषां यथा काशी ह्यनुत्तमा । तथा पुराणव्रातानां श्रीमद्भागवतं द्विजाः ॥ १७ ॥

kṣetrāṇāṁ caiva sarveṣāṁ yathā kāśī hy anuttamā tathā purāṇa-vrātānāṁ śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ dvijāḥ

And just as Kashi is unsurpassed among all holy places, so, O brahmins, is Shrimad Bhagavatam unsurpassed among the whole multitude of Puranas.

Verse 18 (bhagavata.12.13.18)

श्रीमद्भागवतं पुराणममलं यद्वैष्णवानां प्रियं यस्मिन् पारमहंस्यमेकममलं ज्ञानं परं गीयते । तत्र ज्ञानविरागभक्तिसहितं नैष्कर्म्यमाविष्कृतं तच्छृण्वन् सुपठन् विचारणपरो भक्त्या विमुच्येन्नरः ॥ १८ ॥

śrīmad-bhāgavataṁ purāṇam amalaṁ yad vaiṣṇavānāṁ priyaṁ yasmin pāramahaṁsyam ekam amalaṁ jñānaṁ paraṁ gīyate tatra jñāna-virāga-bhakti-sahitaṁ naiṣkarmyam āviskṛtaṁ tac chṛṇvan su-paṭhan vicāraṇa-paro bhaktyā vimucyen naraḥ

Shrimad Bhagavatam is the spotless Purana, most dear to the Vaishnavas, in which the one pure, supreme knowledge of the paramahamsas is sung; within it is revealed freedom from the bondage of action, joined together with knowledge, renunciation, and devotion — by hearing it, reciting it well, reflecting upon it, and by devotion, a person attains liberation.

Verse 19 (bhagavata.12.13.19)

कस्मै येन विभासितोऽयमतुलो ज्ञानप्रदीपः पुरा तद्रूपेण च नारदाय मुनये कृष्णाय तद्रूपिणा । योगीन्द्राय तदात्मनाथ भगवद्राताय कारुण्यत- स्तच्छुद्धं विमलं विशोकममृतं सत्यं परं धीमहि ॥ १९ ॥

kasmai yena vibhāsito ’yam atulo jñāna-pradīpaḥ purā tad-rūpeṇa ca nāradāya munaye kṛṣṇāya tad-rūpiṇā yogīndrāya tad-ātmanātha bhagavad-rātāya kāruṇyatas tac chuddhaṁ vimalaṁ viśokam amṛtaṁ satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi

By whom this peerless lamp of knowledge was first revealed to Brahma; and, in that same form, to the sage Narada; and, in that same form again, to Krishna-Dvaipayana Vyasa; and then, out of sheer mercy, to the king of yogis, Shukadeva, one with that very truth, and to Bhagavata-Rata, Parikshit — upon that pure, spotless, sorrow-free, immortal, Supreme Truth do we meditate.

Verse 20 (bhagavata.12.13.20)

नमस्तस्मै भगवते वासुदेवाय साक्षिणे । य इदं कृपया कस्मै व्याचचक्षे मुमुक्षवे ॥ २० ॥

namas tasmai bhagavate vāsudevāya sākṣiṇe ya idam kṛpayā kasmai vyācacakṣe mumukṣave

Obeisances to that Lord Vasudeva, the witness of all, who, out of His own mercy, explained this Bhagavatam to Brahma, who longed for liberation.

Verse 21 (bhagavata.12.13.21)

योगीन्द्राय नमस्तस्मै शुकाय ब्रह्मरूपिणे । संसारसर्पदष्टं यो विष्णुरातममूमुचत् ॥ २१ ॥

yogīndrāya namas tasmai śukāya brahma-rūpiṇe saṁsāra-sarpa-daṣṭaṁ yo viṣṇu-rātam amūmucat

Obeisances to that king of yogis, Shuka, the very embodiment of Brahman, who freed Vishnurata (Parikshit), bitten as he was by the serpent of samsara.

Verse 22 (bhagavata.12.13.22)

भवे भवे यथा भक्तिः पादयोस्तव जायते । तथा कुरुष्व देवेश नाथस्त्वं नो यतः प्रभो ॥ २२ ॥

bhave bhave yathā bhaktiḥ pādayos tava jāyate tathā kuruṣva deveśa nāthas tvaṁ no yataḥ prabho

O Lord of lords, grant that devotion to Your feet may arise within me birth after birth; please do this, O Lord, for You alone are our true master.

Verse 23 (bhagavata.12.13.23)

नामसङ्कीर्तनं यस्य सर्वपापप्रणाशनम् । प्रणामो दुःखशमनस्तं नमामि हरिं परम् ॥ २३ ॥

nāma-saṅkīrtanaṁ yasya sarva-pāpa praṇāśanam praṇāmo duḥkha-śamanas taṁ namāmi hariṁ param

I bow down to that Supreme Hari, whose very name, sung together, destroys all sin, and whose obeisance alone stills every sorrow.