Srimad Bhagavata Mahapuranam With Three Commentaries- Skandha III (An Old and Rare Book)

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There are totally eighteen Puranas, which are considered to have been written by sage Vedavyasa. There are three divisions in these Puranas called sattvic, rajasic and tamasic. The sattvic Puranas stress the supremacy of Lord Vishnu. Amongst such Puranas Srimadbhagavatam occupies the foremost place.

It has a pre-eminent place even amongst the sattvic Puranas. This is corroborated by the fact that sage Vyasa who did not derive mental peace even after writing works like Mahabharata, could get it only after composing Srimadbhagavatam on the advice of Narada. This epic describes the divine birth and marvelous acts of the Lord.

T.T.D. has decided to publish Sanskrit Bhagavatam in 14 volumes with three famous commentaries expounding Advaita, Visishtadwaita and Dwaita systems.

The scholars who worked in the Bhagavata project, have completed the editing of this work successfully. Ten Skandhas (12 volumes) of Bhagavatam have been brought out with this volume. The remaining two Skandhas also would be published soon.

The T.T.D. expresses its gratitude to all the scholars who completed the editing of this work with devotion. It is hoped that the readers would receive this volume well and make the TTD's efforts fruitful.

There are number of books which eulogies the splendor of Lord Srimannarayana.

Srimadbhagavatam occupies the foremost place amongst them all On the advice of sage Narada, Vedavyasa composed Bhagavatam describing the divine qualities of the Lord, and derived the required mental peace. Bhagavatam, the best amongst the Puranas, is considered the fruit fallen from the wish-fulfilling-tree (Kalpavruksha).

It contains 12 Skandhas, of which this volume is the third. The Mahapurana contains ten characteristics. They are (1) Sarga, (2) Visarga, (3) Sthana, (4) Poshana, (5) Uti, (6) Manvantara, (7) Eshanukatha, (8) Nirodha, (9) Mukti and(10) Asraya .

. The first characteristic, that is Sarga, is depicted in this Skandha. Sarga is explained as follows: under the direction of the Lord, the three Gunas get shaken, thereby, producing the five elements, primary sensations, Indriyas, Ahankara and Mahatattva. The various definitions of Sarga given by different scholars specify the same explanation.

There are thirty three chapters in the third Skandha, The first nineteen chapters, detail the nature of karma (action). The remaining chapters espouse the nature of knowledge.

In the first part, the birth of Yajnavaraha and His divine actions are extensively explained. In the second part, incarnation of Kapila and his teachings are elaborated. In the second chapter of this book, Sri Krishna's boyhood sports are presented beautifully. Vidura questions Uddhava about the life of Vasudeva. Uddhava reminiscing the wonderful life of Sri Krishna is over-whelmed by sorrow and recounts the divine leelas of Lord Krishna.

Thereafter, Vidura meets Maitreya, who explains the gradual evolution of creation (Sarga). Vidura questions sage Maitreya in his inquisitiveness as to how the Lord ho is devoid of all kinds of qualities, develops relationship with qualities and actors etc. Maitreya replies that in actuality the Lord has no relationship with any quality just as the moon does not have any movement although his reflection in water appears to be moving.

Brahma, who takes birth from the navel lotus of Vishnu, praises Him in many ways and surrenders to Him. This can be seen in the ninth chapter.

Srimadbhagavata which describes the various incarnations of the Lord contains the story of Yajnavarahavatara in the thirteenth chapter. Cursed by Sri Sanaka and other sages, Jaya and Vijaya the gatekeepers of Vaikuntha take birth as Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakasipu in the Rakshasa clan, and exhibit extreme hatred towards Lord Vishnu. In this Skandha the killing of Hiranyaksha by the Lord is described. Hiranyakasipu meets his death at the hands of the Lord in the seventh Skandha. Witnessing the death of Hiranyaksha at the hands of Yajnavaraha, Brahmand J other Gods, praise the demon fop his rare opportunity of getting killed by the divine hands of the Lord, duly perceiving the Lord's face. In this manner the greatness of devotion is repeatedly narrated in this holy book.

In the twenty third chapters, the honey-moon trips of the couple Kardama and Devahuti, in the air are excellently described.

In the last part of this Skandha, the birth of Kapila, as a child of Kardama and Devahuti, is narrated. Kapila teaches the secrets of Bhakti Tattva to his mother Devahuti extensively, which is the very important part of this book. According to Kapila the mind entangled in the qualities like Sattva, Rajas and Thamas leads to bondage. Whereas, the same mind devoted to God, leads to liberation (Mokha). There's no other nobler path than Bhakti Yoga, to attain Brahman.

Kapila explains the way for attaining liberation through the method of discrimination of Prakruti and Purusha. He asserts that downfall is inevitable' for those who are immersed in house-hold activities only.

Book's Contents and Sample Pages