Srimad Bhagavatam — Dvadasha Skandha, Shloka 19
Bhāgavatam Mahimā — The Glory, Measure, Transmission, and Gift of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
कस्मै येन विभासितोऽयमतुलो ज्ञानप्रदीप: पुरा तद्रूपेण च नारदाय मुनये कृष्णाय तद्रूपिणा । योगीन्द्राय तदात्मनाथ भगवद्राताय कारुण्यत- स्तच्छुद्धं विमलं विशोकममृतं सत्यं परं धीमहि ॥ १९ ॥
kasmai yena vibhāsito ’yam atulo jñāna-pradīpaḥ purā tad-rūpeṇa ca nāradāya munaye kṛṣṇāya tad-rūpiṇā yogīndrāya tad-ātmanātha bhagavad-rātāya kāruṇyatas tac chuddhaṁ vimalaṁ viśokam amṛtaṁ satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi
Tôi chiêm niệm Chân Lý Tuyệt Đối Tối Thượng, thuần tịnh không tì vết, vượt khỏi sầu khổ và tử vong—Đấng thuở ban sơ đã tự thân soi sáng ngọn đuốc tri kiến vô song này cho Brahmā. Brahmā truyền cho Nārada, Nārada kể cho Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa, Vyāsa trao cho bậc đại yogī Śukadeva, và Śukadeva với lòng từ mẫn đã thuyết cho Bhagavadrāta (Mahārāja Parīkṣit).
The first verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam states, satyaṁ paraṁ dhīmahi — “I meditate upon the Supreme Truth” — and now at the conclusion of this magnificent transcendental literature, the same auspicious sounds are vibrated. The words tad-rūpeṇa, tad-rūpiṇā and tad-ātmanā in this verse clearly indicate that Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself originally spoke Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam to Brahmā and then continued to speak this literature through the agency of Nārada Muni, Dvaipāyana Vyāsa, Śukadeva Gosvāmī and other great sages. In other words, whenever saintly devotees vibrate Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, it is to be understood that Lord Kṛṣṇa Himself is speaking the Absolute Truth through the agency of His pure representatives. Anyone who submissively hears this literature from the Lord’s bona fide devotees transcends his conditioned state and becomes qualified to meditate upon the Absolute Truth and serve Him.
FAQs
This verse calls the Bhāgavatam an incomparable jñāna-pradīpa (lamp of spiritual knowledge) revealed by the Supreme Truth through the disciplic succession.
They represent the Bhāgavatam’s transmission: the revelation to Nārada, composition and manifestation through Vyāsa, realization and recitation by Śukadeva, and devoted hearing by King Parīkṣit.
Treat Bhāgavatam study as guided illumination—hear regularly in a faithful lineage, reflect on the Supreme Truth’s qualities (pure, sorrowless, immortal), and let that knowledge shape daily choices and devotion.