Dr. Kenneth R. Valpey (Krishna Kshetra Swami): Book endorsement: I am grateful to Prof. Francis X. Clooney, the Parkman Professor of Divinity at Harvard University and my former doctoral supervisor, who has written a very nice endorsement for our (Ravi M. Gupta & my) soon to appear *The BhÄgavata PurÄá¹a: Selected Readings*:
âThe Bhagavata Purana is one of the most important theological and devotional texts of Hinduism. Yet, given its great length and complexity, it has rarely been read even by the wider audience of scholars and students, beyond the justly famous narratives of Krishna found in its tenth book. Most readers remain unfamiliar with the rich range of its philosophical and religious narratives, its fascinating and entertaining narrative of cosmology and myth, its teachings on religious practice and devotion, and its important articulation of a fundamental Vaishnava theology. Gupta and Valpey have put their Indological and theological skills to good use in their excellent translations of key texts judiciously selected from all twelve books, thus making the Purana truly accessible for the first time. It is also a welcome companion to the scholarly essays found in their The Bhagavata Purana: Sacred Text and Living Tradition (2013). Together, these volumes will quickly find a place in the classroom and on the shelves of every library collection attuned to the greater Hindu traditions.â