OVERVIEW OF SRIMAD BHAGAVATAM

It is important to know the overview of Srimad Bhagavatam. This is like the contents of a book. The pramANa (authoritative proof) for anything in our religion is the Vedas. Vedas are the authority and primary source of knowledge. The next in order are Smriti, Itihasa and Purana.

Vedas are sanatana (meaning ancient and eternal) and are called apourusheya (meaning not written by man). Vedas are also called Shruti because it is learnt through sound – and in the olden days, the teacher would say the sloka and disciple would repeat it. The teacher knew the entire Vedas by heart and the student is also expected to memorize it without the aid of books or recordings as we have these days.

It is said that the Vedas are the breath of Bhagavan Himself. So, these sound waves or vibrations are already there in the atmosphere. But we are unable to perceive it. The rishis were able to receive these mantras. For example, there are numerous radio waves at different frequencies that exist around us. We are unable to perceive them. But this does not mean they do not exist. If we have a receiver that is tuned to the particular frequency of radiowaves, we are able to hear it. Similarly, Rishis with their tapas or penance tuned themselves to hear the Vedas. They were literally able to see the mantras. Hence, they are also called Mantra Drashtaha Rishi. It is a general notion that Veda Vyasa Maharishi ‘wrote’ the Vedas. But that is not true. Vedas existed eternally and Veda Vyasa Maharishi only codified or compiled or classified them into 4 branches namely Rig, Yajur, Sama and Atharvana.

The next authority is Smritis. Now, that the Vedas are by-heart, what do we do with them? Many rishis like Yagnyavalkya, Manu (Manu was a king and a rishi and so called as Raja Rishi), Bodhayana, etc. understood the Vedas and wrote Smritis – so as to give us something practical like sacred sacrifices (yaga, yagna).

The next authority is Itihasas or epics. The 2 Itihasas are Ramayana and Mahabharata. The next authority is Puranas. There are 18 Puranas in all and Srimad Bhagavatam is the last or 18^th Purana. Sri Veda Vyasa did not get a sense of satisfaction or contentment that the people of Kali Yuga would benefit from all his works, even after giving us so many shastras including Mahabharata and 16 Puranas. He then wrote Srimad Bhagavatam specifically for people in Kali Yuga to be able to nourish bhakti.

Srimad Bhagavatam has a total of 12 cantos, 335 chapters and 18000 slokas. Cantos are the major division. A canto consists of multiple chapters and each chapter consists of multiple slokas.

For a grantha (work) to be called as a Purana (epic), it must have atleast 5 lakshanas (charactarastics) and for a grantha to be called as Mahapurana (grand epic), it must have 10 lakshanas (charactarastics). Srimad Bhagavatam is a Mahapurana and has 10 lakshanas. They are listed below with the meanings:

Here is how Srimad Bhagavatam is structured. The outer loop is a conversation between Suta Pauranika (narrator or vakta) and Shaunakadi Maharishis (who are the shrota or listener) that begins in the first canto and ends in the 12^th canto. During their conversation, Suta Pauranika says, “Parikshit heard Bhagavatam from Sri Shuka and that’s the Bhagavatam I am going to narrate.” So we have another conversation where Sri Shuka is the narrator (vakta) and Parikshit is the listener (shrotha). Sri Shuka also describes a conversation that happens between Sage Maithreya who is the vakta (narrator) and Vidura who is the shrotha (listener). Here is the picture to represent these loop.

The conversation between Suta Pauranika and Saunakadi Maharishi start from Canto 1.1 to Canto 12.13. The conversation between Sri Shuka and Parikshit starts at Canto 2.1 and ends in 12.5. The conversation between Maithreya and Vidura spans from Canto 3 to 4.

There are numerous stutis, Deva stuti, Brahma stutis, Rudra gitam, Narayana kavacham. The Pancha Gitam (5 songs) sung by Gopis and Pancha Stutis are imperative for us to learn and know. The Pancha Gitams are Venu gitam, Pranaya gitam, Gopika gitam, Yugala gitam and Brahmara gitam. The Pancha Stutis are Kunti stuti, Bhishma stuti, Dhruva Stuti, Prahlada stuti and Gajendra stuti.

Below is the contents of each canto in a nutshell.

Canto 1:

Has 19 chapters.
Shaunaka and other rishis with him ask 6 questions to Suta Pauranika and the answers to them flows out as Srimad Bhagavatam.
Introduction to Srimad Bhagavatam.
Birth of Bhagavatam – what instigated Veda Vyasa to write Bhagavatam
Story of Narada Maharishi
Bhagavatam begins with the end of Mahabharata, with the story of King Parikshit and his curse.
Contains Kunti stuti & Bhishma stuti

Canto 2:

Has 10 chapters.
Sri Shuka starts narration of Srimad Bhagavatam
Shuka stuti is a marvelous stuti in the 4^th chapter
Description of creation.
Chatushloki Bhagavatam is in chapter 9 (Srimad Bhagavatam as narrated by Bhagavan to Lord Brahma in 4 slokas) – which
Mentions the 10 characteristics of a Mahapurana

Canto 3:

Has 33 chapters.
Conversation of Maitreya and Vidura starts in this canto.
Elaborates the creation in detail and mentions all the avataras of Bhagavan
Deals with the destruction of Hiranyaksha and describes Varaha avatara.
Talks about the first creation of Brahma- Swayambhuva Manu & Shatarupa and their lineage. (Priyavarata, Uttanapada, Ahuti, Devahuti, Prasuti belong to their lineage).
Elaborates the avatara of Bhagavan as Kapila Vasudeva. His mother Devahuti surrenders to Him seeking knowledge and His advise (upadesha) is present as Kapilopdesa in this canto.

Canto 4:

Has 31 chapters.
Describes Daksha Yagnya.
Story of Dhruva and his stuti
Narrative of Vena, & Prithu charitram.
Puranjanopakhyana is detailed.
The conversation between Vidura and Maithreya concludes in this canto.

Canto 5:

Has 26 chapters.
Story of Priyavratha
Narrative of Rishabha Yogi, Bharata yogeshwara or JadaBharata.
Description of the geography of the globe, rivers, continents of this earth.
Explanation of naraka (hell) which forms the foundation to the Ajamila charitra in canto 6.

Canto 6:

Has 19 chapters.
Details Ajamila Charitra
Explains Vritrasura Charitra and has Narayana Kavacha and Vritrasura Chatusloki as a part of it.
Elaborates Chitraketu’s story.
Has a narrative of pumsavana vratha and story of Maruts.

Canto 7:

Has 15 chapters.
Most wonderful story of Prahlada is described in 10 chapters.
9^th Chapter is the Prahlada Stuti – which is one of the pancha stutis described above.
Contains description of dharma.

Canto 8:

Has 24 chapters.
Starts with the Gajendara Upakhyana.
Gajendra Stuti (5^th stuti of the pancha stutis is in the 3^rd chapter of this canto).
The wonderful story of the churning of the milky ocean (Amruta Mathana)
Has a narrative of Vamana Avatara.
Concludes with the description Matsya Avatara

Canto 9:

Has 24 chapters.
This canto describes all the raja rishis (kings who became rishis).
Story of Ambarisha is described that shows the greatness of Sadhus.
Chapters 10 and 11 are Ramayana in a nutshell.
Also outlines the stories of all the kings in the Surya (Sun) dynasty (Rama was born in this lineage) and Chandra (Moon) dynasty (Krishna was born in this lineage).

Canto 10:

Has 90 Chapters
The entire Krishna Leela is detailed in the 10^th canto and all the pancha gitams are in this canto.
The first half (poorvardha) has 49 Chapters and the second half (uttaraardha) has 41 chapters.
This canto is called the Ashrayam or Refuge. This canto satisfies the Ashrayam lakshana (charactarastic) of a Mahapurana.
Even if we don’t read the entire Bhagavatam, just reading the 10^th canto is enough, like Atmadeva did (whose story is told in Srimad Bhagavata Mahatmyam).

Canto 11:

Has 31 chapters.
Navayogi Upakhyana is present in this canto – which elaborates on the path of Bhagavata Dharma.
Contains Uddhava Gita (from chapter 6 – chapter 29 this is described as Krishna-Uddhava Samvada (conversation)).
Last 2 chapters of this canto elaborates how Bhagavan finishes his avatara on this earth and goes back to his abode.

Canto 12: