Bhaktivedanta VedaBase: Śrīmad Bhāgavatam 2.1.invocation

om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya

SYNONYMS

om — O my Lord; namah — my respectful obeisances unto You; bhagavate — unto the Personality of Godhead; vāsudevāya — unto Lord Krishna, the son of Vasudeva.

TRANSLATION

O my Lord, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.

PURPORT

Vāsudevāya means "to Krishna, the son of Vasudeva." Since by chanting the name of Krishna, Vāsudeva, one can achieve all the good results of charity, austerity and penances, it is to be understood that by the chanting of this mantra, om namo bhagavate vāsudevāya, the author or the speaker or any one of the readers of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is offering respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord, Krishna, the reservoir of all pleasure. In the First Canto of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, the principles of creation are described, and thus the First Canto may be called "Creation."

Similarly, in the Second Canto, the post-creation cosmic manifestation is described. The different planetary systems are described in the Second Canto as different parts of the universal body of the Lord. For this reason, the Second Canto may be called "The Cosmic Manifestation." There are ten chapters in the Second Canto, and in these ten chapters the purpose of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the different symptoms of this purpose are narrated. The first chapter describes the glories of chanting, and it hints at the process by which the neophyte devotees may perform meditation on the universal form of the Lord. In the first verse, Śukadeva Gosvāmī replies to the questions of Mahārāja Parīkshit, who asked him about one's duties at the point of death. Mahārāja Parīkshit was glad to receive Śukadeva Gosvāmī, and he was proud of being a descendant of Arjuna, the intimate friend of Krishna. personally, he was very humble and meek, but he expressed his gladness that Lord Krishna was very kind to his grandfathers, the sons of Pāndu, especially his own grandfather, Arjuna. And because Lord Krishna was always pleased with Mahārāja Parīkshit's family, at the verge of Mahārāja Parīkshit's death Śukadeva Gosvāmī was sent to help him in the process of self-realization. Mahārāja Parīkshit was a devotee of Lord Krishna from his childhood, so he had natural affection for Krishna. Śukadeva Gosvāmī could understand his devotion. Therefore, he welcomed the questions about the King's duty. Because the King hinted that worship of Lord Krishna is the ultimate function of every living entity, Śukadeva Gosvāmī welcomed the suggestion and said, "Because you have raised questions about Krishna, your question is most glorious." The translation of the first verse is as follows.

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His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupāda, Founder Ācārya of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness