Shrimad Bhagavatam

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This book, a terse English version of Srimad Bhagavatam, is the priceless product of the perseverance and painstaking efforts of the last three years of Mr. Balachandran Nair, my bosom friend. Translating this spiritual classic rendered in Sanskrit, a language not known to many, into English, without losing the lustre of its contents, is no small task.

Srimad Bhagavatam, as all of us know, is the greatest transcendental Sanskrit literature that this world has ever experienced. It is a time tested remedy, capable of assuaging the afflictions of the distress-ridden society embroiled in the inexorable attitudes and actions of the reckless tyrants and terrorists who now decide the very course of life in this planet. It is perhaps the only literature audaciously pronouncing the existence of an ultimate source, the God Almighty, of everything that be, from whom everything in this Universe arises, by whom everything is preserved and maintained in harmony with perfect precision and in whom everyone and everything merge after dissolution. That the Bhagavatam can rationally and authoritatively explain and interpret this ultimate reality is its major advantage over the other spiritual texts in the world.

With its unrivalled splendour and delicious taste, Bhagavatam is considered to be the ripened fruit of the robust tree of Vedic literature, the purest, precise and the most authentic expression of the precious Vedic lore and an exotic commentary on Vedanta Sutra. It eulogises bhakthi as the most commendable virtue. It is sublime for the serious aspirants with steadfast devotion intent on establishing rapport with the Supreme Lord, and it is relatively facile for entrants just on its threshold. Bhagavatam is replete with tales of illuminating examples of perfect bhakthas like Kunthi, Panchali, Bhishma, Yudhishtira, Arjuna, Kapila, Swayambhuva, Rishabha, Vritra, Ajamila Amberisha, Uddhava, Vidhura, Akrura, Prithu, Dhruva, Devahooti, Narada and Gajendra, to name only a few.

It is believed that Veda Vyasa did not get mental satisfaction after complling the Chatur-Vedes and setting forth their essence in aphorisms called 'Vedanta Sutras'. He also authored the Upanishads and the 18 Puranas. But writing Bhagavatom in the maturity of his spiritual life, as per the advice of Sage Norada, ultimately brought calmness and composure to his turbulent and tumultuous mind. He imparted this brilliantly exquisite masterpiece of majestic poetry with its oceanic vastness comprising of 12 Cantos, 335 chapters and 18000 slokas, that gave a profound and penetrating view of the glorious spiritual and cultural heritage of our country, to his renunciate son, Sage Srisuko. He recited Bhagavatam to Maharaja Parikshit on the banks of the river Ganges. The Mahorojo was accursed to die on the seventh day from the date of the curse, by the great and fierce serpent Tokshaka's bite. This incident happened 30 years after the departure of Lord Srikrsna to His own abode.

Bhagavatam preaches simple and practical guidance for attaining the highest knowledge of the Self and the Absolute Truth, who is none other than Bhagavan Srīkrsna. He lives everywhere in full consciousness and in full possession of his complete energy. He is therefore logically accepted as the Supreme Person or the Brahman, Bhagavan is Bhagavatam and vice versa. By reciting the name of the Perfect Personality, addressed in Srimad Bhagavatam as Võsudeva, even people who led lives of depravity like Dhundukori and Ajamila got salvation. Sage Sanaka and his brother ascetics narrated the Bhagavatam to Sage Narada on the banks of the river Ganges to liberate Bhakti, Jnana and Vairagya from their stupor and debility. Later Sage Saunaka and others conducted a 1000 year Bhagavatam Satra for the good of all world's people in the Kaliyuga. tales from the Bhagavatam to the Rishis present there and quenched their thirst for spiritual knowledge.

Being a rabble rouser in my younger days, my future was indeed a question mark. My helpless mother had to shed a tear drop or two, thinking about me. I was once witness to this. That was sufficient reason for me to appear before the family deity to express regret with wet eyes. More than fear for Him, remorse for the circumstantial misdeeds of the immediate past, as a boy, had prompted me to invoke the help of the Almighty to mend my ways.

When I was suffering in my mother's womb, I might have been reminded by the Poremetme about my misdeeds of the past birth, and been showed where i had erred. I might have pleaded with Him then, to give me jiona at least in this birth. Probably I had wanted to escape from the pain and grief of Somsdra and therefore beseeched Him as was done by the child in the womb in the Srimad Bhagavatam, "O, Paramatma, when I am reborn onto this earth, it is certain that I will lose all this awareness by the play of Your Maya and i may even forget You. I may develop ego and be mesmerised by the impermanent materialistic world and may even get into evil ways again. To bear the fruit of Karma, I may fall into the trap of the life cycle. Therefore, I do not wish to be born, O Bhagavan, I wish to remain in my mother's womb and think of You always."

Perhaps a rush of remembrance of Poromätma's advice, when i was in my mother's womb, might have come to me. Anyhow, the seed of spirituality was sown in me.

I have always thought that the risky credit decisions in a Nationalised Bank, which 1, an executive with only Sattvic desires, was forced to discharge, enabled me to become a Korma Yogi. After accomplishing a banking career spanning a period of 37 years, performing all assigned tasks in the name of the Paramatma, retirement in 2010 transformed me into a humble Bhakta. The incessant desire for Bhakthi took over me.

Unlike parents of the children of other religions, especially Christian and Muslim religions, today, the Hindu-parents do not make efforts to inculcate the Bhakthi-marga in their children, right from a young age. As a consequence, their children become materialistic-minded and they tend to go astray. The demonstration effect creates a longing in such parents for 'quality' education for their children in 'eminent' schools. They are not bothered whether such schools render training to their children in moral disciplines or not. More often than not, this results in inculcation of Tomo-Guna in the students. The students go for wanton satisfaction of sensual pleasures. The expression of love for God and interest in discourses surrounding Him are taboo for the children -a sort of infra-dig.

If not in schools, the parents are duty bound to instill spiritual values in their children at home, for which they themselves must be aware of the richness of values as taught in the Puranas. The awareness of the gems of advice enunciated in the religious texts is found wanting in them-a lack of understanding of the Hindu Purands Unfortunately, the parents and children who have not mastered Sanskrit/regional languages, find it difficult to understand the Puranas, which are mostly written in Sanskrit/ Hindi or regional languages. Having completed their education in English-medium schools they may not evince much interest in reading these spiritual texts, which are also very voluminous. Therefore, they tend to go along with the bandwagon of atheists, who call the highly moral stories and the characters therein as myths. It is for them, who have totally not lost all the religious fabric, that I have made this effort of bringing out the Srimad Bhagavatam in a concise form.

The original text of Srimad Bhagavatom reveals the essence of the Vedas. The Bhagavatam is considered to be an elixir for good men who read or listen to this.

It is said that Ganga is the greatest among rivers, Visnu among Devos, Siva among the Visnu-Bhakthas and Käsi among temples. In like manner, Bhagavatam is the greatest among religious texts. Repeated reading of Bhagavatam leads to shedding of the six clinging impurities of the mind, viz. Kama, Kroda, Lobha, Moha, Mada and Motsarya. Finally, the individual is led to greater heights of spiritual ecstasy. It is said in the Bhagavata Purana that Bhagavän himself rendered the slokas of this Purana to Brahma Deva out of compassion for Him. Brahma Devo was desperate, as He was afraid of being caught up by Samsara. The wisdom He had acquired was passed on to Narada, who in turn transferred the treasure to Vyasa (Krishna Dwaipayana). Vyasa disclosed it to his son Srisuka, who was kind enough to render it to Pariksit, who had just seven days of life left in this world, before being bitten by the serpent Taksaka to fulfill the curse of Srigi.

My humble effort is condensed in about 670 pages. I have taken care to bring out this text in as many Cantos and as many chapters as is there in the original text. I have not capitalized the pronouns relating to Gods and have only lowercased these in the text, as the number of such pronouns is too large.

The pattern of narration is the same as in the original, with the Sutha Pauranika addressing Saunaka and his disciples of Rsis in Naimisaranyo, and the narrative is as said by Srīsuka to Pariksit.

This work has come out consequent to an inner call and it took me more than three years to complete it.

I offer my humble work at the lotus feet of Guruvayurappa, without whose innate support I would not have even made an effort to begin this spiritual work.