Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Srimad Bhagavatam 12.13 Summary

In this final chapter Sri Suta Gosvami describes the length of each of the Puranas, along with the subject matter of Srimad-Bhagavatam, its purpose, how to give it as a gift, the glories of such gift-giving and the glories of chanting and hearing it.

The total corpus of the Puranas includes four hundred thousand verses, eighteen thousand of which constitute Srimad-Bhagavatam. The Supreme Personality of Godhead, Narayana, instructed Brahma in this Srimad-Bhagavatam, whose narrations produce detachment from matter and which contains the essence of all the Vedanta. One who gives the Srimad-Bhagavata Purana as a gift will attain the highest destination. Among all the Puranas, Srimad-Bhagavatam is the best, and it is the most dear thing to the Vaisnavas. It reveals that spotless, supreme knowledge accessible to the paramahamsas, and it also reveals the process by which one can become free from the reactions of material work -- a process enriched with knowledge, renunciation and devotion.

Having thus glorified the Bhagavatam, Suta Gosvami meditates upon Lord Sri Narayana as the original Absolute Truth, who is perfectly pure, free from all contamination, devoid of sorrow and immortal. Then he offers obeisances to the greatest yogi, Sri Sukadeva, who is nondifferent from the Absolute Truth. Finally, praying with true devotion, Suta Gosvami offers respects to the Supreme Personality of Godhead, Lord Sri Hari, who takes away all misery.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada, Founder Acarya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness
His Holiness Hrdayananda dasa Goswami
Gopiparanadhana dasa Adhikari
Dravida dasa Brahmacari