Bhagavata Purana

The Bhgavata Pura also known as rmad Bhgavatam, or Bhgavata) is one of the "Maha" Puranic texts of Hindu literature, with its primary focus on bhakti (devotion) to the incarnations of Vishnu, particularly Krishna. The Sanskrit text comprises twelve skandas (cantos or books) and some 18,000 verses. The Bhgavata includes many stories well known in Hindu tradition, including the various avatars of Vishnu and the life of Krishna. It was the first Purana to be translated into a European language, with three French translations between 1840 and 1857. Like all Puranas, the Bhgavata is a product of oral tradition, its extant version usually dated to the the ninth or tenth century CE. The text itself credits Veda Vyasa with its authorship. The intense and personal bhakti described in the Bhgavata is directed toward Krishna as God in human form. The tenth book (or canto), which is dedicated to Krishna, takes up about one quarter of the entire Bhgavata. It includes the most comprehensive collection of stories about the life of Krishna, showing him in all the stages and conditions of human life. It also includes instruction in the practice of bhakti, an analysis of bhakti, and descriptions of the different types of bhakti. The Bhgavata takes the form of a story recounting Vyasa's work being recited for the first time by his son uka to the dying King Parikshit, who owes his life to Krishna. Longing to hear of Krishna before he dies, uka recites the Bhgavata to Parikshit over the course of seven days.

Significance: The Bhgavata is widely recognized as the most well known and influential of the Puranas, and is sometimes referred to as the "Fifth Veda". It is unique in Indian religious literature for its emphasis on the practice of bhakti, compared to the more theoretical bhakti of the Bhagavad Gita; for its

redefining of dharma; and for the extent of its description of God in a human form. It is also the source for many of the popular stories of Krishna's childhood told for centuries in the Indian subcontinent. Charlotte Vaudeville refers to the Bhgavata as "the real Bible of Krishnaism", while the Bhgavata declares itself as the essence of Vedanta: The Sri Bhgavata is the very essence of all the Vedanta literature. One who has enjoyed the nectar of its rasa never has any desire for anything else. (12.13.15) The Bhgavata, along with the Bhagavad Gita, are the main sources of scriptural authority used by Gaudiya Vaishnavas for demonstrating the preeminence of Krishna over other forms of God. An oft-quoted verse from the Bhgavata is used as a representational statement by Krishna sects to show that Krishna is "Bhagavan Svayam", or God himself: "These [other incarnations] are amsha, or kala, partial incarnations, but krishnas tu bhagavan svayam, 'Krishna is Bhagavan, God himself.'"(1.3.28). The 15th16th century Assamese translation of the Purana (Bhagavat of Sankardeva) by Srimanta Sankardeva and others form the central text of the Ekasarana Dharma, a monotheistic religion in Assam. Sankardeva's rendering of the tenth Book, locally called daxama, is particularly popular.

The Puranas are a type of traditional Hindu texts that took form during the medieval period, often both informed by earlier material and undergoing later interpolations. It is therefore problematic to assign a precise date to any such text, The Bhgavata Pura itself is a typical case, a text transformed by oral tradition which reached its "basic final shape" at some stage during the Indian Middle Ages. Scholarly consensus holds that the text was completed no later than around 1000 CE, when it is mentioned by al Biruni and quoted by Abhinavagupta; the earliest suggestions of it are the composition of the Vishnu Purana and Harivamsa, and the Vaishnava Bhakti movement in South India, which limit its composition to after 500 CE. Within this range, scholars such as R. C. Hazra date it to the first-half of the sixth century, while most others place it in the post-Alvar period around the ninth century. The final redactor of the text was emphasizing the texts's claim to ancient origns by resorting to an archaizing Vedic flavour of Sanskrit.

The Bhgavata itself claims primordial origins, while accepting that it has since been edited by human and divine hands.[11] The text and Hindu tradition ascribe its authorship to Veda Vyasa, who is also credited as the scribe for the Vedas. The Bhgavata Pura contains apparent references to the South Indian Alvar saints and it makes a post factum prophecy of the spread of Vishnu worship in Tamil country (BP XI.5.3840); these facts, along with its emphasis on "emotional Bhakti to Krishna" and the "Advaita philosophy of Sankara", lead many scholars to trace its origins to South India.[4] However, J. A. B. van Buitenen, a late professor of Indology at the University of Chicago points out that 10th11th CE South Indian Vaishnava theologians Yamuna and Ramanuja do not refer to Bhgavata Pura in their writings, and this anomaly needs to be explained before the geographical origins and dating are regarded as definitive.