Srimad Bhagavata, which comes under the category of scriptural texts called the Puranas, consists of eighteen thousand and odd verses and is a veritable encyclopaedia of spiritual philosophy put in an epic form that is both devotional and poetic. It depicts pure devotion, expressed as unmotivated service of the Divine and of all living beings considered as the tabernacle of god. Pious Hindus consider a daily reading of the text an important spiritual discipline in life for generating devotion and the spirit of dedication to God. Any person, whatever his religion, will find enriched by a close study of the text.
Apart from its superb poetry and the very wide range of its devotional teachings, the reason for the Bhagavata’s forceful and ever-expanding appeal is its elaborate exposition of the life and message of Sri Krishna. Out of its eighteen thousand verses, six thousand and odd deal with him directly and a considerable part of the remaining deal indirectly. Sri Krishna is treated as the perfect and complete descent of the Divine, and through his personality, character and actions is given a vivid, uplifting, and artistic presentation of the Satchidananda–Parabrahman of the Upanishads and the Gita.
Swami Tapasyananda, who was one of the vice-presidents of the Ramakrishna Order with sterling scholarly learning and intellectual acumen, has painstakingly translated the text with great fidelity. His masterly Introduction will enable the reader to have a proper grasp of the scripture.
This volume is the first of the four-volume set of the text. It contains the original Sanskrit text and its English translation of Skandhas 1 to 4. Every Skandha has a prologue which excellently summarises its content.
DR.E.PRAVEEN KUMAR –
I was searching for an authentic commentary on the Srimad Bhagavatham. In my vain search outside, i couldn’t get an appropriate book as usual. I suddenly remembered the saying of Sri Thakur to Swamiji – “There is no spirituality present outside which cannot be present here (meaning himself).” I knew of the greatness of Tapasyananda Maharaj but i thought that he has only given a faithful translation of the original. But when i went through the introduction, i realized that his genius at work. The scholarly introduction is bound to satisfy the curiosity of the discerning aspirant who will get sufficient hints to decipher the complex and lavish use of symbols, metaphors and anecdotes related to the Lord. The personification of various tattvas get due treatment in his introduction and prologues which clear various doubts of sincere seekers. Waiting for a digital and improved version/edition.