The Narrations of Srimad-Bhagavatam

In bygone ages, all Vedic knowledge was passed down orally. People would hear the knowledge, remember it, assimilate it, and perfectly communicate it to the next person without any adulteration. The power of comprehension was so great that no written books were required. Foreseeing the degradation of Kali-yuga, however, Vyasadeva was eager to have the knowledge documented for posterity.

Technically speaking, each narration of Srimad-Bhagavatam is slightly different. For example, the Srimad-Bhagavatam spoken by Sukadeva Goswami to Maharaja Pariksit is obviously not identical to that which was spoken by Suta Goswami to Saunaka Rishi. That said, the substance, emphasis and conclusion remains eternally unchanged. What to speak of these slight variations, in the various planetary systems we find different versions of the Srimad-Bhagavatam for different gradations of living entity. The Srimad-Bhagavatam existing in heavenly planets, for example, is far more voluminous.

For the earthly humans, Vyasadeva chose to record the recital between Suta Goswami and Saunaka Rishi as the written form of Srimad-Bhagavatam. At the time of writing, numerous narrations of Srimad-Bhagavatam were being conducted amongst the sages. Once this dialogue was put into written form, however, it became the standard. Spontaneous recitals of Srimad-Bhagavatam gradually disappeared, and as people lost their recollective powers they took shelter of this documented form of the epic conversation.