Srimad Bhagavatham - 5 (Skandha 1 Chapter2)

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Jai Srimannarayana!

 

Chapter2 - The message of Bhakthi

The soothapouranaika, named Ugrasravas, the son of Romaharshana saluted his guru

Vyasa and the Lord before commencing to speak. He said,

 

yam pravrajantham anupe:tham ape:tha krthyam

dhvaipa:yano: virahaka:thara a:juha:va

puthre:thi thanmayathaya: tharavo:abhine:dhuh

tham sarvabhootha hrdhayam munim a:natho asmi

 

" Salutations to Shuka, who started alone, renouncing the world, not

being interested in karmamarga and whom Vyasa called 'my son' due to the grief

of separation, when all the trees answered him, and not shuka, because he was a

brahmajna:ni and has become one with the entire universe. "

 

Shuka who was born as a brahmajnani left his father being indifferent to

karmamarga, renouncing the world. Vyasa was smitten with grief due to his

attachment towards his son and called him 'puthra' in order to stop him but

shuka never answered and went away. Instead, the trees and other beings in the

forest answered him because his son was shukabrahmam, and has become one with

the entire universe.

 

Then sootha praised shuka with another verse.

 

yassva:nubha:vam akhilasruthisa:rame:kam

adhya:thmadheepam athithitheershatha:m thamo andham

samsa:rina:m karunaya: a:ha pura:naguhyam

tham vya:sasoonum upaya:mi gurum muneena:m

 

" I surrender to the son of VyAsa, the preceptor of the sages, who, out

of mercy for the souls in samsara who wish to cross over the dense

darkness of ignorance, told this Bhagavathpurana which is the secret

that provides the experience of the Self, the essence of the vedas,of

supreme merit and is like the lamp for self knowledge. "

 

Then sootha starts to narrate the purana after the customary invocation verse,

 

na:ra:yanam namaskrthya naram chaiva naro:tthamam

dheveem sarasvatheem vya:sam thatho: jayam udheeraye:th

 

The purana known as Jaya should be told after salutations to Narayana

and Nara, the supreme purusha an sage Vyasa and goddess Sarasvathi. Usually

Mahabharatha is only known as Jaya but here Bhagavatha purana is also referred

to as Jaya in the sense, 'jayathi ane:na samsa:ram ithi jayah,' one conquers

samsara with this.

 

The word 'jaya' denotes the number 18 according to katapaya:dhi sankhya and

Mahabharatha was called jaya as it is connected with the number 18. It contains

18 parvas and the mahabharatha war went on for 18 days and the Bhagavatgita, the

crest jewel of Mahabharatha contains 18 chapters. Bhagavtha also contains 18000

slokas and 18 is the number of Krishnamanthra.

 

Then Sutha starts answering the questions raised in the last chapter.

 

Jai Srimannarayana!