Payonidhi das: Srila Gadhara Pandit would constantly read Srimad Bhagavatam when he was in Jagannatha Puri and when Srinivasa Acarya came to see him, and hear Srimad Bhagavatam from him, the words where simply washed away by the tears of Gadhara Pandit.
The Srimad Bhagavatam is the topmost vedic litterature and the litterary incarnation of Krsna. Srila Prabhupada writes in on purport that in every page of Srimad Bhagavatam Krsna is found.
Srila Sanatana Goswami has also glorified Srimad Bhagavatam:
1-2) O Srimad-Bhagavatam, O nectar churned form the ocean of all the Vedic scriptures, O most prominent transcendental fruit of all the Vedas, O you who are enriched with the jewels of all spiritual philosophical conclusions, O you who grant spiritual vision to all the people of the world; O life-breath of the Vaisnava devotees, O Lord, You are the sun which has arisen to dispel the darkness of the Kali yuga. You are actually Krsna Who has returned (among us).
3) O Srimad-Bhagavatam, I offer respectful obeisances unto You. By reading you one attains transcendental bliss, for Your syllables rain pure love of God upon the reader. You are always to be served by everyone, for you are an incarnation of Krsna.
4) O Srimad-Bhagavatam, O my only friend, O my companion, O my teacher, O my great wealth, O my deliverer, O my good fortune, O my bliss, I offer respectful obeisances unto you.
5) O Srimad-Bhagavatam, O giver of saintliness to the unsaintly, O uplifter of the very fallen, please do not ever leave=2 0me. Please become manifested upon my heart and my throat, accompanied by pure love of Krsna.
Krishna das Kaviraj Goswami writes “Men become strong and stout by eating sufficient grains, but the devotee who simply eats ordinary grains but does not taste the transcendental pastimes of Lord Caitanya Mahäprabhu and Krishna gradually becomes weak and falls down from the transcendental position. However, if one drinks but a drop of the nectar of Krishna’s pastimes, his body and mind begin to bloom, and he begins to laugh, sing and dance.” (CC madhya lila 25.278)
Prabhupada comments, “All the devotees connected with the Krishna consciousness movement must read all the books that have been translated (the Caitanya-caritämrta, Srimad-Bhägavatam, Bhagavad-gitä and others); otherwise, after some time, they will simply eat, sleep and fall down from their position. Thus they will miss the opportunity to attain an eternal, blissful life of transcendental pleasure.”
Reading Srimad Bhagavatam is one of the 5 most important angas (limps) of Bhakti.HH Gaura Govinda Maharaja who was born into a vaisnava family and practised pure devotional service his whole life used to recite one sloka:
śrīmad-bhāgavataḿ purāṇam amalaḿ yad vaiṣṇavānāḿ priyaḿ
yasmin pāramahaḿsyam ekam amalaḿ jñānaḿ paraḿ gīyate
tatra jñāna-virāga-bhakti-sahitaḿ naiṣkarmyam āviskṛtaḿ
tac chṛṇvan su-paṭhan vicāran ̣a-paro bhaktyā vimucyen naraḥ
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the spotless Purāṇa. It is most dear to the Vaiṣṇavas because it describes the pure and supreme knowledge of the paramahaḿsas. This Bhāgavatam reveals the means for becoming free from all material work, together with the processes of transcendental knowledge, renunciation and devotion. Anyone who seriously tries to understand Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, who properly hears and chants it with devotion, becomes completely liberated.
In Toronto he once asked me if I remembered the 10 subjects of Srimad Bhagavatam.They are described in the 2 canto and again mentioned in the 12 Canto .He said :” How can you preach properly if you do not understand these 10 subjects of Srimad Bhagavatam”.So I realized that yes we have to try to go deep into this Srimad Bhagavatam and understand the 10 subjects.I pray to all the vaisnavas we may all develop a great taste to constantly hear Srimad Bhagavatam ( and chant Hare Krishna).In the end of Srimad Bhagavatam some important slokas are there:
SB 12.13.14: All other Puranic scriptures shine forth in the assembly of saintly devotees only as long as that great ocean of nectar, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, is not heard.
SB 12.13.15: Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is declared to be the essence of all Vedānta philosophy. One who has felt satisfaction from its nectarean mellow will never be attracted to any other literature.
your servant
Payonidhi das
It is explained in the Tattva Sandarbha that the one Purana became 18 :
Therefore Supreme Lord declares in the Matsya Purana: “O Best of the Twice-born, realizing that, in course of time, men become unable to comprehend the (original) Purana, I assume the form of Vyasa, in every age, and summarize that Purana.” (Ma. P.53/8-9) That is,”For easy comprehension (of peaple), I take the already existent Purana and arrange it in a concise form.” Following this it is stated: “In every Dvapara Yuga, the Purana, consisting of four laks (of verses), is divided into eighteen parts and manifested in the world of mortals. Even today, the (verses) namber a hundred croses in the world of the devas. The four laks found here represent a condensed version of that (original Purana).” (Ma. P.53/9-11