Chapter 6 – The Procedure of Listening to the Bhāgavata
The Kumāra sages said:
1. Now we shall explain to you in detail the correct procedure of (properly) listening to the Bhāgavata in a week. It has been laid down that this procedure is to be accomplished with the help of friends and (expenditure) of wealth.
2. Inviting an astrologer and discussing with him the auspicious time (for the beginning of the reading of the Bhāgavata), one should set aside that much amount (for the Bhāgavata-week) as is required for the marriage ceremony (of one’s daughter).
3. The months of Bhādrapada, Āśvina, Kārttika, Mārgaśīrṣa, Āṣāḍha and Śrāvaṇa (corresponding to August, September and October, November, June and July) – these are harbingers of Mokṣa for those commencing an exposition of Bhāgavata during any of these months.
4. Those (objectionable) objects (e.g. vegetables in the month of Śrāvaṇa, curds in the month of Bhādrapada) should be given up during the course of those specific months. One should secure the cooperation of other help-mates who are enthusiastic and industrious.
Special Note : Onions and Garlic: These are often avoided as they are believed to be tamasic in nature, meaning they can increase the body’s heat and distract from spiritual practices.
Brinjal (Eggplant): According to some Puranas, brinjal is considered impure during this holy month and should be avoided.
Leafy Vegetables: Some traditions advise against consuming leafy green vegetables during Śrāvaṇa, mainly due to the rainy season during which this month falls. It’s believed that these vegetables may harbor more bacteria and insects during this time. Examples include spinach, fenugreek leaves, etc.
Tomatoes: Similar to brinjal, tomatoes might be avoided in some households during Śrāvaṇa.
(Curd – As per Ayurvedic Considerations) : According to Ayurveda, the month of Bhādrapada (which typically falls in August-September) often coincides with the late monsoon season. During this time, the Pitta dosha (the bodily energy associated with heat and metabolism) is believed to accumulate in the body. Curd is considered to have ushna (hot) potency and can potentially aggravate Pitta, leading to imbalances and health issues. Therefore, to maintain balance during this seasonal transition, some Ayurvedic practitioners advise reducing or avoiding foods that increase Pitta, including curd.
5. Again, a message should be particularly sent to all places saying that an exposition of the Bhāgavata is being arranged and that people should (make it a point to) attend with their families.
6. Some people stand remote from the stories of Śrī Hari as well as from the chanting of Śrī Viṣṇu’s names and praises. It should be so arranged that they, as well as humans (who have not studied & not studied this wisdom), and even those belonging to houses where worship of God does not take place (due to their lack of exposure to the right spiritual wisdom), and other such people should receive the knowledge (i.e. news) of the Bhāgavata-week.
7. Letters should be addressed everywhere to the devotees of God, who have renounced (or wish to renounce) all worldly attachments and are keen on chanting the divine names and glories. The wording of the letter has been suggested as follows :
8-10. “There is going to be a very rare congregation of pious persons for the period of one week. Here is also going to be the reading of the Bhāgavata story of unprecedented sweetness. Your honours who are addicted to drinking the nectar of God’s name and are deep in love of God should come quickly for drinking the ambrosia in the form of Śrī Bhāgavata. If you have no time to spare, you should, however, come at least for one day, for a moment’s attendance here is very difficult to get.”
11. In this way, invitations should be politely extended to them in these words and one should keep ready places of abode for all who come.
12. The arrangements for listening to the exposition of the Bhāgavata should be made at a sacred place, or in a forest, or even at home. Where there is an extensive ground, the venue of the exposition of the Bhāgavata story should be fixed at that place.
13. The ground should be cleansed, swept, plastered with cow dung and painted with red chalk. The furniture and other things in the house should be placed in the corner of the house.
14. Some five days in advance, one should collect with efforts, carpets etc., to cover the ground (for visitors to sit). A high panḍal (shed) decorated with the fresh stems of bananas should be erected.
15. It should be decorated with a canopy and (pendants, wreaths etc., of) fruits, flowers and leaves on all sides. Flags should be hoisted on four sides, and thus the penḍal should be gorgeously beautified.
16. On a higher level (within the shed) seven spacious divisions should be made (one higher than the other), each representing one of the seven spheres (e.g. bhūrloka, bhuvarloka, svarloka and others in the universe) and priests as well as those who have shaken off worldly attachments should be seated there after due persuasion.
17. Preceding that, seats should be provided one after another (on those platforms) and an excellent seat (overlooking all) should be prepared for the orator of the Bhāgavata.
18. If the orator is to sit facing the north, the audience should in that case sit facing the east. And if the orator is to sit facing the east, the audience should then sit facing the north.
19. Or (if such arrangements is not possible) the space intervening the respectful orator and the audience should be considered to be the east: such is the ruling given about the hearers by those possessing (authoritative) knowledge concerning the time and place etc., of hearing the Bhāgavata.
20. The orator selected should be an expert of the scriptures and one has shaken off (all) worldly attachments, and can explain difficult points in Vedas and other Śāstras, expert in giving appropriate illustrations (in elucidating a matter), an intelligent orator completely free from avarice and cravings.
21. Persons who themselves are confused by different paths of spirituality (such as worship of God with a form, without a form and the eternal consciousness – also not understanding the glories of lord Shiva, lord Vishnu, Maa Durga & other forms), are excessively fond of the opposite gender, preach heresies, are disqualified for even uttering the text of the Bhāgavata (the story of Śuka’s scripture), even if they are otherwise learned ones.
22. By the side of and as a help to the orator (of the Bhāgavata), another learned person equal in competence to the orator who is capable of resolving the doubts (of the audience) and diligent in enlightening the people, should be installed.
23. With a view to carry out the sacred vow (of reading and explaining the Bhāgavata in the prescribed week), the orator should get himself shaved on the previous day. At dawn, he should complete his morning duties and take bath.
24. Finishing with zeal his morning prayers (sandhyā), and other devotions in a short form everyday, he should particularly worship Lord Gaṇeśa (the elephant-headed god) for removing the difficulties (if any) that may occur in the way of the exposition of the Bhāgavata.
25. After the usual oblations of water offered for the satisfaction of his forefathers, he should go through an expiatory rites for his own personal purification. He should draw the sarvatobhadra type of mystical diagram for invoking Hari, and should install (in the form of an image or the Śālagrāma stone) Lord Hari therein.
Special Note – The Sarvatobhadra (सर्वतोभद्र) is a type of mystical diagram, specifically a mandala or chakra, used in various rituals, including those for invoking deities like Sri Hari (Vishnu) & others. The name “Sarvatobhadra” literally means “auspicious on all sides,” signifying its comprehensive and all-encompassing nature.
Deity Installation (Avahana): The presence of Lord Hari is invoked and symbolically installed in the central part of the mandala, often on a specific mark or symbol representing him.
Worship (Puja): Offerings such as flowers, incense, lamps, and food are made to Lord Hari and the other deities positioned in the mandala. Specific mantras associated with Vishnu are chanted.
26. He should (then) with the chanting of Mantras (sacred texts) successively offer to Śrī Kṛṣṇa (through that image) the sixteen prescribed courses of worship, including Pradakṣiṇā (walking round the Deity clockwise) and salutation and at the end of the worship address (the following) prayer (to Him):—
Special Note – The sixteen forms of worship, also known as Shodashopachara (षोडशोपचार), are a traditional and elaborate way of honoring a deity in rituals & prayers. These sixteen steps are symbolic offerings and services made to the invoked deity, treating them like a revered guest.
- Āvāhana (आवाहन): Invocation or inviting the deity to be present in the image or sacred space.
- Āsana (आसन): Offering a seat for the deity to be seated.
- Pādya (पाद्य): Offering water to wash the deity’s feet.
- Arghya (अर्घ्य): Offering water mixed with fragrant substances like flowers, durva grass, and rice to wash the deity’s hands.
- Āchamanīya (आचमनीय): Offering water for the deity to sip and purify the mouth.
- Snāna (स्नान): Offering a bath to the deity, sometimes with water, milk, ghee, honey, sugar (Panchamrita), or other sacred substances.
- Vastra (वस्त्र): Offering new clothes or adornments to the deity.
- Yajñopavīta (यज्ञोपवीत) or Upavīta: Offering the sacred thread (for male deities).
- Gandha (गन्ध): Offering fragrant substances like sandalwood paste, kumkum, or other perfumes.
- Pushpa (पुष्प): Offering flowers and garlands to the deity.
- Dhūpa (धूप): Offering incense, burning fragrant resins or herbs.
- Dīpa (दीप): Offering light, usually from an oil lamp or ghee lamp.
- Naivedya (नैवेद्य): Offering food and drinks to the deity. This often includes cooked rice, fruits, sweets, and other preparations.
- Tāmbūla (ताम्बूल): Offering betel leaves, betel nuts, and sometimes other fragrant or refreshing items.
- Namaskāra (नमस्कार) or Pranāma (प्रणाम): Offering obeisances, bowing down or prostrating before the deity with folded hands.
- Pradakṣiṇa (प्रदक्षिणा): Circumambulating the deity in a clockwise direction as a mark of reverence.
These sixteen Upacharas represent a comprehensive way to honor and connect with the divine during worship.
27. “Rescue, O Storehouse of compassion! from the ocean of mundane existence my wretched self, sunk in that ocean of metempsychosis (saṃsāra), my body having been seized by (the alligator in the shape of) infatuation for action (karma).”
28. Then, the worship of the book—Śrīmad Bhāgavata should be performed with devotional love and enthusiasm, according to the prescribed procedure, lighting before it the lamp and burning incense.
29-30. Holding a coconut (in the hollow of his joined palms), he should then duly offer salutation and then with a cheerful mind alone the following prayer should be addressed (to Śrīmad Bhāgavata): for here is Śrī Kṛṣṇa Himself manifest (before us) under the name of Śrīmad Bhāgavata. “I have sought You, O Lord ! for being rescued from the ocean of mundane existence (Saṃsāra)”.
31. Oh Keśava! I am your servant. My earnest desire (to complete the exposition of the Bhāgavata within this week) without any obstacle or difficulty, may please be fulfilled by you in every respect.”
32. After submitting this humble prayer, one should offer respects to the proposed reciter and adorning him with garments, and one should further duly extol him at the end of the worship (as follows):
33. “Oh representative of the sage Śuka! You are well-versed in all Śāstras and expert in elucidating. Be pleased to dispel my ignorance by enlightening me in this story (of the Bhāgavata)
34. Before him then a vow should be gladly taken (by the chief listener) for their own (spiritual) good and it should be truly observed by them at all events to the best of their ability for a (full) week
35. In order to remove any interruptions in the exposition of the story (of the Bhāgavata), five priests should be appointed, their duty being continuously uttering in a low voice the twelve-syllabled Mantra, (Om namo bhagavate Vāsudevāya).
36. Bowing to the priests and other devotees of God, as well as to those engaged in chanting the names and praises of Śrī Hari, one should occupy one’s seat with their permission.
37. A listener who, setting aside all anxiety and thoughts pertaining to the world, wealth, property, houses and progeny, concentrates his mind on the exposition of the story (Bhāgavata) and is of pure heart, obtains the highest reward.
38. Commencing (the exposition of the Bhāgavata) from sunrise, the intelligent orator should properly read the (Bhāgavata) story in a calm and steady voice, upto the end of three and half praharas (Ten hours and a half).
39. There should be a break for a period of two ghaṭikās (48 minutes) at miḍ-ḍay. During that interval singing about the glories of Hari and chanting of his name should be continued by the devotees of God.
40. For controlling the urge for the evacuation of one’s bowels and bladder a light diet is as a matter of fact conducive to happiness, One who seeks to hear an exposition of the Bhāgavata should (accordingly) take his meal only once (a day) and take only such food as fit to be offered as an oblation to the sacred fire.
41. If one has the requisite stamina, one should listen to the Bhāgavata without taking any food for seven days (of the Bhāgavata week), as one may do so with ease subsisting only on ghee or milk (during that period).
42. Or, The Bhāgavata may be listened to while subsisting on fruits or by taking food once a day; whichever vow can be comfortably observed during the period of listening (to the Bhāgavata) should be taken.
43. I would certainly prefer taking a meal if it would enable one to listen to an exposition of the Bhāgavata. A fast (on the other hand) is not commended if it stands in the way of hearing the exposition.
44. Oh Nārada! Now listen to the rules of conduct to be observed by persons who have taken the vow of (listening to the exposition during the Bhāgavata week). Persons who envy God are not eligible to hear the Bhāgavata-story.
Special Note – As this is not casual entertainment, but a sacred, transformative encounter that requires purity of heart, discipline, and guidance. And a person who is envious of God, will be more interested to find flaws and make a mockery of this wisdom, rather than surrendering to the wisdom of God.
45. A person who has taken a vow to hear an exposition of Bhāgavata (as aforesaid) should constantly (during the period) observe continence (Brahmachārya), sleep on the floor (or on a plank-bed but in no case on a bedstead) and take their meals on leaves joined together (or on a single leaf if it is big enough) at the end of the exposition (for the day).
Special Note – Here Brahmachārya means an earnest desire to constantly think and meditate upon God throughout the day, and not letting the mind think of anything about the world.
46. The observer of this vow should abstain from eating pulses, honey, oil (indigestible sweet boiled food or) sweet dishes, food with mentally evil association (fruit with fleshy kernels or blood-red interior) and cooked food which has been kept overnight (during the Bhāgavata week).
Special Note – Pulses (like tuvar, moong, etc., usually considered heavy to digest), Honey and oil: restricted here due to their stimulating or ungrounding properties during focused sādhanā.
47. “The one observing the vow of sacred Bhāgavata week should drive far away desire, anger, pride, arrogance, envy, greed, hypocrisy, delusion, and hatred.”
48. “One observing the Bhāgavata week should abstain from making damaging or false statements about the Vedic scholars, devotees of God, learned persons, one’s guru, sacred cows, vow-observers, all humans, kings, and noble souls.”
49. “One observing the Bhāgavata week should not speak with ignorant people, uncultured persons, the fallen, haters of God, and those outside the spiritual path.”
50. Similarly the one who is vowed to the hearing of the Bhāgavata should observe truthfulness, (external and internal) purity, compassion, silence, straight forwardness, modesty (in their dealings) and likewise practise liberal-mindedness.
51. A pauper, one suffering from consumption, any (other) ailing person, a wretch, a person of sinful deeds, one whois without a family, and a seeker of Liberation should hear this story (of Bhāgavata in seven days).
52. A girl who has not menstruated irrespective of reaching the age, one who repeatedly miscarries, an infertile woman, a woman whose child has died, or a woman with an unstable pregnancy – to such women, the Bhāgavata should be heard with great enthusiasm.”
53. If it is heard with due ceremony (by those enumerated in verses 51 and 52), the hearing bids fair to yield them a fruit which is absolutely free from decay. This superb and divine story (of Bhāgavata) is capable of conferring (on its hearers) the fruit of tens of millions of sacrificial performances.
54. Having thus (duly) observed the rules of conduct prescribed for this vow (of hearing Bhāgavata in a week) the (chief) listener should then perform the rite concluding the vow.
By those seeking the special fruit of (this rite) should perform just on the lines of the rite of concluding the fast on the Janmāṣṭami day (the eighth of the dark half of the lunar month of Bhādrapada, the birth anniversary of Śrī Kṛṣṇa).
Special Note – On Janmāṣṭami day, the fast is typically broken at midnight, the time of Śrī Kṛṣṇa’s symbolic birth. After preparing prasad, it’s offered to the idol and then consumed to conclude the fast.
55. Among devotees claiming nothing as their own (akiñcana bhaktas), there is usually no insistence on formal completion of any rituals, as such desireless devotees of God are purified simply by listening (to the Bhāgavata).
56. When these seven days sacrificial session (consisting of an exposition of Bhāgavata) is over, worship should presently be offered by the listeners to the book (of Bhāgavata) with great devotion, as well as respect to the expositor.
57. Remnants of food, basil leaves and wreaths of flowers offered to the Deity should forthwith be distributed to the listeners and the chanting of the Lord’s names and glories, sweetened by the sounding of wooden tomtoms and the striking of cymbals should then be resorted to.
58. The chief listener should make the audience utter with him shouts of triumph and words of greetings and raise blasts of conches; and money as well as food should be dealt out to priests and mendicants.
59. If the (chief) listener is a person who has renounced the world, the Gītā should be read the following day. If (however) he/she is a householder, in that case oblations should be poured into the sacred fire by way of expiation for any sin (voluntarily or involuntarily) committed in the course of the act (of hearing the Bhāgavata).
60. With the utterance of each verse of Book Ten (of Bhāgavata) rice boiled in milk with sugar, honey and ghee and mixed with sesame seeds and food-grains (barley etc.) should be consigned to the sacred fire.
61. Or (as an alternative) the chief listener should perform the Havana with a concentrated mind along with the muttering of the holy Gāyatrī, Śrīmad Bhāgavata (the supreme Purāṇa) being in essence the same as the Gāyatrī.
62-63. In the event of them being incapable of performing the Havana a wise person should give away (to priests) materials fit to be consigned to the sacred fire in order to achieve its fruit. In order to make amends for the various shortcomings (that might have marred the performance) as well as for neutralizing the faults of deficiency and excesses (committed) they should read the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma (the thousand names of Lord Viṣṇu catalogued in the Mahābhārata, Padma Purāṇa and other sacred books). Through that every performance bids fair to become fruitful inasmuch as there is nothing more efficacious than that.
64. The listener should then feed twelve qualified priests with sweets and rice boiled in milk with sugar and give away gold and a cow (to a qualified priest) for the completion of the sacred vow.
65. Having got prepared a seat of gold weighing three tolas (35 grams) if their means allow it, they should install on it the book of Śrīmad Bhāgavata written in beautiful letters.
66-68. Duly worshipping the book by invoking in it (the presence of) the Deity ensouling it and through other forms of worship including a gift of money, the wise listener should present it to the orator of restrained mind by offering apparel, ornaments, sandal-paste etc. By doing so the listener will be rid of the shackles of birth and death (saṃsāra). On the procedure of hearing Śrīmad Bhāgavata, which purges one of all sins being thus completed, the blessed and glorious Bhāgavata-Purāṇa yields the desired fruit and proves to be the means of securing religious merit, worldly possessions, fulfilment of all desires and Liberation : there is no doubt about it.
The Kumāra sages said:
69. Thus everything has been narrated to you, what more do you wish to hear? Enjoyment of worldly prosperity as well as liberation from saṃsāra both are on the palm of your hand through the Śrīmad Bhāgavata.
Sūta said:
70-71. After addressing Nārada in this way, the high-souleḍ Kumāra-sages recited and elucidated with due formality the sacred story of Bhāgavata which wipes out all sins and confers (on the listeners) worldly enjoyment (here) and Emancipation from Saṃsāra (here-after) while all living beings, observing self-control, were listening to it for seven days. Thus they glorified the Supreme Person, lord Viṣṇu.
72. At the end of that Bhāgavata-week, Jñāna (knowledge), Vairāgya (Renunciation) and Bhakti (Devotion) got the highest nourishment and energy and exhibited superabundant youthfulness that enchanted the minds of all beings.
73. Having accomplished his cherished ambition, Nārada was deeply satisfied. He was filled with supreme bliss and his hair stood on their end all over his person.
74. Having carefully listened to the (Bhāgavata) story, Nārada who was dear to the glorious Lord, folded his palms and addressed them in a voice choked with feelings of love.
Nārada said:
75. I am really blessed, since I have been favoured by you who are extremely compassionate. Today the glorious Lord Hari, the destroyer of all sins, has been attained by me.
76. Oh sages who regard austerities as your wealth! I think listening (to the Bhāgavata) is greater than and preferable to all other righteous paths, for Śrī Kṛṣṇa who resides in Vaikuṇṭha is attained by listening to it.
Sūta said:
77. While Nārada, the foremost among Viṣṇu’s devotees, was speaking thus, Śuka, the master yogin arrived there during the course of his wanderings.
78. At the end of the (recitation of the Bhāgavata) story, there came Śuka slowly reciting the Bhāgavata with deep love—Śuka, the son of Vyāsa who always appears sixteen years of age, and who is like the Moon (bringing flow-tide) to the ocean of spiritual knowledge and who is perfectly satisfied with (the bliss of) self-realization.
79. As soon as the members of the assembly saw the highly resplendent Śuka, they immediately stood up (to show respect) and offered him the highest seat. The divine sage Nārada (received) him with great love and reverence. When seated comfortably, he spoke out. Listen to his pure, faultless speech.
Śrī Śuka said:
80. O you devotees, possessing a taste for divine joy, Śrīmad Bhāgavata is the fruit (essence) of the wish-yielding tree of Vedas, dropped on earth from the mouth of sage Śuka (as from the mouth of a parrot = Śuka), and is full of the nectar of supreme bliss. It is unmixed sweetness (devoid of rind, seed or other superfluous matter). Go on drinking this divine nectar, again and again, till your body-consciousness ceases.
81. In this glorious Bhāgavata, produced by Vedavyāsa (the great sage), has been taught that supreme wisdom (the wisdom of God Worship, the Bhāgavata Dharma as it is called) which is entirely free from all self-deception (in the shape of desire including the desire for Mokṣa or Liberation). In this has been expounded that absolute Reality which can be known only by saints who are free from malice, which is the bestower of (supreme) bliss and uproots the threefold agony (1 – the agony caused by bodily distemper, 2 – that which is attributable to natural agencies and 3 – that inflicted by a fellow being). Can the Supreme Lord be realized in the heart immediately by the teaching of any other means? No. But in this (Bhāgavata) he can be so comprehended at once by the meritorious who have a desire to hear (and study) this.
82. The glorious Bhāgavata is the ornament of the Purāṇas and the wealth of the devotees of God; in it stands celebrated the (one) supreme Reality, which is all consciousness (as well as all truth and all bliss), free from (all) impurity (in the form of contact with Māyā) and which is the goal of Paramahaṁsas (ascetics of the highest order) alone. In this Purāṇa withdrawal from (all) activity, coupled with spiritual enlightenment, dispassion and Devotion, has been expounded. A person devoutly listening to it, carefully reading it and pondering upon it, surely becomes liberated.
83. This nectarine juice in the form of the Bhāgavata is not available in the heaven, in Satya Loka (god Brahmā’s abode), in Kailāsa (the residence of Lord Śiva) and (even) in Vaikuṇṭha (the abode of Lord Viṣṇu). Hence, drink deeply this nectar of wisdom, O fortunate ones. Please do not give up drinking.
Sūta said:
84. While Śuka, the son of Bādarāyaṇa (Vyāsa) was telling in this way, Lord Hari, surrounded by Prahlāda, Bali, Uddhava, Arjuna and other devotees, manifested himself in the midst of the congregation, and the celestial sage Nārada worshipped them all.
85. Beholding Śrī Hari, who was now perched on a high seat, cheerful, they presently commenced chanting the divine names and praises before Him. Lord Śiva (the Source of the universe), accompanied by Goddess Bhavānī (Pārvatī, the divine Spouse of Lord Śiva), and Lord Brahmā (who remains seated on a lotus) arrived there to attend the Kīrtana (chanting the name and glorifying the deeds of the Lord).
86. Prahlāda held (struck) the wooden cymbals because of his agility, while Uddhava held the brass ones. Nārada (the celestial sage) played upon his lute; Arjuna, who was a master of tunes, kept up the vocal melody. Indra (the lord of paradise, the ruler of the gods) sounded a wooden tomtom; the aforesaid Kumāra (Sanaka and his three brothers) raised shouts of glory in a melodious voice (at intervals) in that chorus, where Śrī Śuka (the son of Vyāsa), stood in front of the Lord expressing different emotions in his charming composition.
87. There in the middle of that assembly, danced like dancers, the trio—Bhakti, (Jñāna and Vairāgya) who were in the full bloom of their youthful splendour. Observing this extraordinary transcendental Kīrtana, Śrī Hari also was highly pleased and addressed them as follows:
88. “Oh my devotees (Bhāgavatāḥ)! I am now highly pleased with the (recitation of the Bhāgavata) story and the chanting and glorification of my name (Kīrtana). Seek any boon from me”. Hearing these words of Hari, they were greatly delighted and their minds being overwhelmed with devotional love, they spoke to Śrī Hari:
89. “Our ambition is that in (all future) sacrificial sessions consisting of a seven days’ exposition of the Bhāgavata, You must be present with all these devotees of Yours. This should be scrupulously fulfilled by You.” And saying “Be it so” Śrī Hari (the immortal Lord ) disappeared (instantly).
90. Thereupon Nārada bowed to (i.e. in the direction of) the feet of Śrī Hari as well as to Śuka and other ascetics. All the members of the audience who drank the nectar-like story of the Bhāgavata became extremely delighted and had all their delusions completely dispelled and left the assembly.
91. The celebrated Bhakti (Devotion) along with her two sons (Jñāna and Vairāgya) were established (for their protection) in his own scripture (the Bhāgavata) by Śuka. Hence, Śrī Hari definitely enters (and occupies) the hearts of his devotees when they read the Bhāgavata.
92. Verily the Bhāgavata loudly proclaims its power to secure eternal happiness to persons tormented with the burning fever of poverty and misery, to those who are trampled under the feet by the ogress Māyā (the deluding potency of the Lord), and to those thrown in the ocean of this cycle of births and deaths.
Śaunaka asked:
93. Be pleased to resolve my doubt (about the chronological sequence) as to when the Bhāgavata was narrated by Śuka to king Parīkṣit, when it was recited again by Gokarṇa and also when it was recounted by Sanatkumāra and other sons of Brahmā to Nārada?
Sūta said:
94. Śrī Śuka started his exposition of Śrīmad Bhāgavata on the ninth of (Navamī / also called the bright fortnight of) the month of Bhādrapada (roughly corresponding to August of the English calender) after thirty years of the start of the Kali age, commencing from the departure of Śrī Kṛṣṇa (for His divine realm).
95. After Parīkṣit’s hearing (of Bhāgavata) when two hundred more years of the Kali age had elapsed, Gokarṇa (who was born of a cow) commenced his exposition (of Bhāgavata) on the ninth of the bright half (Navamī day) of Āṣāḍha (roughly corresponding to June of the English calendar).
96. When thirty more years of Kaliyuga had elapsed since then, Brahmā’s sons (Sanaka and his three brothers) commenced the exposition (of Bhāgavata) on the ninth of the bright fortnight (on the Navamī day) of Kārttika (roughly corresponding to the month of October of the English calendar).
97. In this way whatever has been asked by you to me has been completely explained to you. Oh sinless Śaunaka! The story of the Bhāgavata is a panacea to the ailment of saṃsāra in the Kali age.
98. Oh saintly persons! Drink with deep (devotional) respect this (nectar-like) story (of the Bhāgavata) which is so beloved of Śrī Kṛṣṇa and which destroys all sins and defects and is the sole means to attain liberation from Saṃsāra and which exhibits the beauty of Devotion. What on earth are you going to gain by visiting and staying at holy places?
99. It is traditionally reported that noticing his officer ready with a noose in his hand (to take away the life of man on the earth), Yama (the god of Death) whispers in his ear, “Avoid people who are inebriated with the joy in stories of the Lord, for I am not competent to exercise authority on (the lives of) the devotees of Śrī Viṣṇu but have mastery over other persons (only)”.
100. Oh people with minds afflicted with attachment to the poison-like worldly pleasures in this insubstantial world! Please do drink, for at least even half a moment, the incomparable nectar of the Bhāgavata (narration of Śuka) for your spiritual welfare. Oh! Why are you unnecessarily going to the wrong (heretic) path replete with censurable talks? King Parīkṣit will testify to the statement that liberation from saṃsāra is attained as soon as the story of the Bhāgavata reaches the ear.
101. The story of the Bhāgavata was narrated by Śrī- Śuka who was immersed in the flow of the sentiment (of Devotion – bhakti-rasa). The person who gets their voice associated with (reads) that story becomes a master of Vaikuṇṭha (by his ultimate merger in Śrī Hari).
102. After probing deeply the mass of Śāstras, this most sacred esoteric truth known as the reality in all well-established texts has been narrated to you. There is nothing purer than the Bhāgavata. Do drink the (nectar-like) essence of the twelve Skandhas of the Bhāgavata for attaining supreme bliss.
103. He who listens to the (elucidation of the) story of the Bhāgavata regularly with devotion and he who narrates (expounds) it in the presence of the pure devotees of God, both of them obtain the real fruit of hearing the Bhāgavata (liberation). For, as a matter of fact there is nothing in this world which is inaccessible to them.
Thus ends the sixth discourse entitled “The procedure of hearing (an exposition of) Srimad Bhagavata detailed”, forming part of the “Glory of Srimad Bhagavata” comprised in the Uttara-Khanda of the glorious Padma-Purana.
END OF SRIMAD BHAGAVATA-MAHATMYA
Summarization Of The Entire Chapter :
The Kumāra sages begin by outlining the proper procedure for a week-long Bhāgavata listening session, emphasizing the need for friends, wealth, and consulting an astrologer for an auspicious start, budgeting an amount comparable to a daughter’s wedding. They specify favorable months for commencing the exposition, such as Bhādrapada, Āśvina, Kārttika, Mārgaśīrṣa, Āṣāḍha, and Śrāvaṇa {August, September and October, November, June and July} and advise on abstaining from certain foods during these periods, while also securing the cooperation of enthusiastic helpers. Wide invitations should be extended, especially to devotees of God and even to those that are unfamiliar with spiritual wisdom, encouraging them to attend with their families and experience the rare sweetness of the Bhāgavata.
The arrangements for the Bhāgavata exposition should be made in a sacred place, forest, or spacious home, with the ground cleansed, decorated, and a grand pandal (shed) erected and adorned with natural elements (banana leaves) and flags. Tiered seating should be organized within, with designated higher platforms for priests and renunciates, and a prominent seat for the qualified orator facing either north or east, with the audience oriented accordingly. The chosen orator should be a detached, knowledgeable scholar capable of clear explanations, while those who are spiritually confused or one’s who are attached to the worldly are deemed as unsuitable to be an orator. A second learned person should also be present to address doubts.
Prior to the exposition, the orator should undergo purification rites, worship Lord Gaṇeśa for obstacle removal, invoke Lord Hari in a mandala, offer sixteen forms of worship with prayers for liberation, and devotedly worship the Śrīmad Bhāgavata book itself (Please go to verse 26 of this chapter to see the detailed list of sixteen forms of worship).
The orator then offers a prayer to the Bhāgavata, recognizing it as Śrī Kṛṣṇa, seeking refuge from Saṃsāra, and the chief listener should honor the orator with gifts and praise, acknowledging their role in dispelling ignorance. The chief listener then takes a vow for spiritual benefit, to be observed diligently for the week, while five priests continuously chant the “Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya” mantra to ensure uninterrupted flow.
Listeners should attend with pure hearts, setting aside worldly concerns, and the daily exposition should last for about ten and a half hours, starting at sunrise, with a break for chanting Hari’s glories. Dietary regulations include taking a light meal once a day (such as which is suitable for fire oblations), with options for fasting on ghee, milk, or fruits for those capable. It is important to prioritize listening this wisdom correctly, rather than fasting, if it becomes a hindrance for the listener. Strict conduct is prescribed for the week, including continence (Brahmachārya : which is an earnest desire to constantly think and meditate upon God throughout the day, and not letting the mind think of anything about the world), sleeping on the floor, eating on leaves, and abstaining from specific foods and negative emotions; damaging speech and association with certain individuals are also forbidden, while truthfulness, purity, compassion, and other virtuous qualities should be cultivated.
The Bhāgavata listening is beneficial for all, including the marginalized and those facing specific life challenges, promising imperishable fruits and the merit of countless sacrifices when performed with due ceremony. Upon completion of the week, a concluding rite should be performed, similar to breaking the Janmāṣṭami fast, although desireless devotees are purified by the listening itself. Post-exposition activities include the Bhāgavata and respecting the orator, distributing sacred remnants, and engaging in devotional singing with music, followed by triumphant shouts, conch blowing, and charity to priests and mendicants.
Further observances may include renunciates reading the Gītā and householders performing fire oblations for any unintentional errors, potentially accompanied by chanting from the Tenth Canto or the Gāyatrī mantra, or donating the necessary materials if a Havana cannot be performed. Reading the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma is recommended to rectify any shortcomings. Finally, qualified priests should be fed and offered gifts, and the Bhāgavata book should be honored and presented to the orator, assuring the listener liberation from Saṃsāra and the attainment of all desired outcomes.
The Kumāra sages conclude by emphasizing the power of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata to grant both worldly prosperity and liberation. Sūta then narrates how the sages formally expounded the Bhāgavata to Nārada, leading to the rejuvenation of Jñāna, Vairāgya, and Bhakti. Nārada expresses his profound gratitude and realization, recognizing the superiority of Bhāgavata listening. Sage Śuka arrives and glorifies the Bhāgavata as the essence of the Vedas, capable of bestowing supreme bliss and liberation. Lord Hari himself manifests with devotees and deities, pleased by the devotion, and grants the boon of his presence in future Bhāgavata Saptāhas. Bhakti, Jñāna, and Vairāgya are established in the Bhāgavata, highlighting its power to grant eternal happiness.
Śaunaka inquires about the chronology of the Bhāgavata narrations, and Sūta provides the timings of Śuka’s narration to Parīkṣit, Gokarṇa’s exposition, and the Kumāras’ narration to Nārada within the Kali Yuga. The chapter concludes by extolling the Bhāgavata as a remedy for Saṃsāra in the Kali Age, urging listeners to drink its nectar with devotion, emphasizing its supreme efficacy over other spiritual practices and the fear Yama himself has for those immersed in its joy, ultimately declaring it the purest truth and the means to attain supreme bliss and liberation for both the listener and the narrator.
Short Question & Answers :
1. According to the Kumāra sages, what are the prerequisites for properly listening to the Bhāgavata in a week?
Answer: The prerequisites are the help of friends, known acquaintances and the expenditure of wealth.
2. What initial step should one take regarding the timing of the Bhāgavata-week?
Answer: One should invite an astrologer and discuss with him the auspicious time for the beginning of the reading.
3. Which months are considered auspicious for commencing an exposition of the Bhāgavata for those seeking Mokṣa?
Answer: The months of Bhādrapada, Āśvina, Kārttika, Mārgaśīrṣa, Āṣāḍha, and Śrāvaṇa are considered auspicious {August, September and October, November, June and July}.
4. What are some of the food items that should be avoided during specific months as mentioned in the text?
Answer: Onions, garlic, brinjal (eggplant), leafy vegetables (which could harbor bacteria and insects), and tomatoes are often avoided during Śrāvaṇa due to their perceived tamasic nature or impurity during this holy month. The avoidance of curd in Bhādrapada is further explained from an Ayurvedic perspective, suggesting it can aggravate the Pitta dosha during the late monsoon season.
5. What should be done to encourage attendance at the Bhāgavata-week?
Answer: Messages should be sent to all places announcing the exposition and inviting people to attend with their families.
6. Where are some suitable locations for arranging the listening of the Bhāgavata?
Answer: Suitable locations include a sacred place, a forest, or even at home. Places with extensive grounds are also recommended.
7. How should the ground for the exposition be prepared?
Answer: The ground should be cleansed, swept, plastered with cow dung, and painted with red chalk.
8. How should the pandal (shed) for the exposition be decorated?
Answer: It should be decorated with fresh stems of bananas, a canopy, and pendants/wreaths of fruits, flowers, and leaves on all sides, with flags hoisted on four sides.
9. How should the seating be arranged within the pandal?
Answer: Seven spacious divisions should be made on a higher level for priests and renunciates, with successive seats provided, and an excellent seat prepared for the orator overlooking all.
10. What is the recommended orientation for the orator and the audience during the exposition?
Answer: If the orator faces north, the audience should face east, and if the orator faces east, the audience should face north. Alternatively, the space between them can be considered the east.
11. What are the qualities that a selected orator of the Bhāgavata should possess?
Answer: The orator should be an expert in scriptures, detached from worldly attachments, capable of explaining difficult points with illustrations, intelligent, and free from avarice and cravings.
12. Who are considered disqualified from even uttering the text of the Bhāgavata?
Answer: Persons confused by different spiritual paths, excessively fond of the opposite gender, and those who preach heresies are disqualified.
13. What role should another learned person play during the exposition?
Answer: Another learned person, equal in competence to the orator, should be installed to help resolve the doubts of the audience and enlighten the people.
14. What preliminary actions should the proposed orator undertake before the Bhāgavata-week begins?
Answer: The orator should get shaved on the previous day, complete morning duties at dawn, and take a bath.
15. Which deity should the orator particularly worship for the smooth conduct of the Bhāgavata exposition?
Answer: Lord Gaṇeśa should be particularly worshipped for removing any difficulties.
16. What personal purification rites should the orator perform?
Answer: The orator should offer oblations to forefathers and perform an expiatory rite for personal purification, including drawing the Sarvatobhadra mandala and installing Lord Hari therein.
17. What is Shodashopachara, and what are some of the offerings made to Śrī Kṛṣṇa during this worship?
Answer: Shodashopachara refers to the sixteen prescribed courses of worship, including Pradakṣiṇā (circumambulation) and salutation.
18. What prayer should the orator address to Śrī Kṛṣṇa after the worship?
Answer: The prayer is to be rescued from the ocean of mundane existence (Saṃsāra) and infatuation for action (karma).
19. How should the Śrīmad Bhāgavata book itself be worshipped?
Answer: It should be worshipped with devotional love and enthusiasm, according to the prescribed procedure, with a lamp lit and incense burning before it.
20. What prayer should be offered to the Śrīmad Bhāgavata book?
Answer: The prayer is to be rescued from the ocean of mundane existence (Saṃsāra), recognizing it as the manifestation of Śrī Kṛṣṇa, and requesting the fulfillment of the exposition without obstacles.
21. What should the chief listener do after the prayer to the Bhāgavata?
Answer: The chief listener should offer respects to the proposed reciter, adorn him with garments, and extol him at the end of the study.
22. What vow should the chief listener take before the orator?
Answer: The chief listener should gladly take a vow for their own spiritual good and observe it truly for a full week to the best of their ability.
23. What is the purpose of appointing five priests during the Bhāgavata exposition?
Answer: Their duty is to continuously utter in a low voice the twelve-syllabled Mantra, “Om Namo Bhagavate Vāsudevāya,” to remove any interruptions.
24. What mental attitude should a listener adopt to obtain the highest reward?
Answer: A listener should set aside all anxiety and worldly thoughts and concentrate with a pure heart on the exposition.
25. What is the recommended duration of the daily Bhāgavata exposition?
Answer: It should commence from sunrise and continue up to the end of three and a half praharas (ten hours and a half).
26. What is the recommended duration and activity during the midday break?
Answer: There should be a break for two ghaṭikās (48 minutes), during which devotees should continue singing about the glories of Hari and chanting his name.
27. What kind of diet is conducive to happiness for someone listening to the Bhāgavata?
Answer: A light diet, taken only once a day with food fit to be offered as an oblation to the sacred fire, is recommended.
28. What are the alternative dietary practices mentioned for those listening to the Bhāgavata?
Answer: Listening without food for seven days (subsisting on ghee or milk), or subsisting on fruits, or taking food once a day are mentioned as alternatives.
29. According to the text, when is fasting not commended during the Bhāgavata-week?
Answer: Fasting is not commended if it stands in the way of hearing the exposition.
30. Who are considered ineligible to hear the Bhāgavata-story?
Answer: Persons who envy / hate God are not eligible.
31. What are some of the rules of conduct for those who have taken the vow of listening to the Bhāgavata-week exposition?
Answer: They should observe continence (Brahmacharya – focusing on God), sleep on the floor, take meals on leaves at the end of the day’s exposition, and abstain from pulses (which carry bacteria), honey, oil, sweet dishes, food with negative associations, and leftover cooked food.
32. What negative qualities should one observing the Bhāgavata week strive to drive away?
Answer: Desire, anger, pride, arrogance, envy, greed, hypocrisy, delusion, and hatred should be driven away.
33. What kind of statements should one observing the Bhāgavata week abstain from making?
Answer: Damaging or false statements about Vedic scholars, devotees, learned persons, one’s guru, sacred cows, vow-observers, all humans, kings, and noble souls should be avoided.
34. With whom should one observing the Bhāgavata week not speak?
Answer: One should not speak with ignorant people, uncultured persons, the fallen, haters of God, and those outside the spiritual path.
35. What positive qualities should one vowed to hearing the Bhāgavata observe?
Answer: Truthfulness, purity (external and internal), compassion, silence, straightforwardness, modesty, and liberal-mindedness should be practiced.
36. Who are specifically mentioned as benefiting from hearing the Bhāgavata in seven days?
Answer: A pauper, one suffering from consumption, any ailing person, a wretch, a person of sinful deeds, one without a family, a seeker of Liberation, a girl who has not menstruated, one with repeated miscarriages, an infertile woman, a woman whose child has died, or a woman with an unstable pregnancy.
37. What is the potential fruit of hearing the Bhāgavata with due ceremony?
Answer: It bids fair to yield a fruit which is absolutely free from decay and is capable of conferring the fruit of tens of millions of sacrificial performances.
38. How should the concluding rite of the Bhāgavata-week be performed?
Answer: It should be performed on the lines of the rite concluding the fast on the Janmāṣṭami day.
39. What is the significance for devotees claiming nothing as their own (akiñcana bhaktas) regarding formal completion of rituals?
Answer: There is usually no insistence on formal completion of any rituals, as they are purified simply by listening.
40. What acts of worship and respect should be offered at the end of the seven-day session?
Answer: Worship should be offered to the book of Bhāgavata with great devotion, as well as respect to the expositor.
41. What should be distributed to the listeners after the session?
Answer: Remnants of food, basil leaves, and wreaths of flowers offered to the Deity should be distributed.
42. What kind of devotional activities should follow the distribution of sacred remnants?
Answer: Chanting of the Lord’s names and glories, accompanied by the sounding of wooden tomtoms and cymbals, should be resorted to.
43. What actions should the chief listener undertake to conclude the session?
Answer: The chief listener should lead shouts of triumph and greetings, raise blasts of conches, and distribute money and food to priests and mendicants.
44. What post-session activities are recommended for a renunciate and a householder?
Answer: A renunciate may read the Gītā the following day, while a householder should perform fire oblations for any sins committed during the act of hearing.
45. What should be offered into the sacred fire with the utterance of each verse of Book Ten of the Bhāgavata?
Answer: Rice boiled in milk with sugar, honey, and ghee, mixed with sesame seeds and food-grains (barley etc.), should be consigned to the sacred fire.
46. What is the alternative Havana that can be performed?
Answer: The Havana can be performed with a concentrated mind along with the muttering of the holy Gāyatrī.
47. What should a wise person do if they are incapable of performing the Havana?
Answer: They should give away materials fit to be consigned to the sacred fire to priests to achieve its fruit.
48. What practice is recommended to amend shortcomings and neutralize faults during the performance?
Answer: Reading the Viṣṇu Sahasranāma (the thousand names of Lord Viṣṇu) is recommended.
49. What final offerings should the listener make for the completion of the sacred vow?
Answer: The listener should feed twelve qualified priests with sweets and rice boiled in milk with sugar and give away gold and a cow to a qualified priest.
50. What should be done with the Śrīmad Bhāgavata book after the week?
Answer: If their means allow, they should install the beautifully written book on a golden seat and worship it before presenting it to the orator with gifts.
51. What are the promised benefits of completing the procedure of hearing the Śrīmad Bhāgavata?
Answer: It purges one of all sins and yields the desired fruit, proving to be the means of securing religious merit, worldly possessions, fulfillment of all desires, and Liberation.
52. According to the Kumāra sages, what two major achievements are within reach through the Śrīmad Bhāgavata?
Answer: Enjoyment of worldly prosperity and liberation from Saṃsāra.
53. What was the effect on Jñāna, Vairāgya, and Bhakti at the end of the Bhāgavata-week?
Answer: They got the highest nourishment and energy and exhibited superabundant youthfulness that enchanted the minds of all beings.
54. What was Nārada’s reaction after carefully listening to the Bhāgavata story?
Answer: He was deeply satisfied, filled with supreme bliss, his hair stood on end, and he addressed the sages with a voice choked with love, expressing his blessedness and the greatness of listening to the Bhāgavata.
55. Who arrived at the end of the recitation of the Bhāgavata story?
Answer: Śuka, the son of Vyāsa, arrived.
56. How did the assembly react upon seeing Śuka?
Answer: They immediately stood up to show respect and offered him the highest seat. Nārada received him with great love and reverence.
57. What did Śrī Śuka say about the Śrīmad Bhāgavata?
Answer: He described it as the fruit of the wish-yielding tree of Vedas, full of the nectar of supreme bliss, urging everyone to drink it repeatedly until body-consciousness ceases. He also highlighted its profound wisdom, its ability to bestow bliss and uproot suffering, and its unique capacity to immediately reveal the Supreme Lord to meritorious listeners.
58. Who manifested in the midst of the congregation while Śuka was speaking?
Answer: Lord Hari, surrounded by Prahlāda, Bali, Uddhava, Arjuna, and other devotees, manifested.
59. Which deities also arrived to attend the Kīrtana?
Answer: Lord Śiva with Goddess Bhavānī and Lord Brahmā arrived.
60. What instruments did Prahlāda, Uddhava, Nārada, Arjuna, and Indra play during the Kīrtana?
Answer: Prahlāda held wooden cymbals, Uddhava held brass ones, Nārada played his lute, Arjuna kept up the vocal melody, and Indra sounded a wooden tomtom.
61. Who danced in the middle of the assembly?
Answer: Bhakti, Jñāna, and Vairāgya, in the full bloom of their youthful splendor, danced.
62. What boon did Lord Hari offer to the devotees?
Answer: He offered them to seek any boon from him, being highly pleased with the recitation and Kīrtana.
63. What was the boon requested by the devotees?
Answer: They requested Lord Hari’s presence with all his devotees in all future seven-day expositions of the Bhāgavata.
64. What happened after Lord Hari granted the boon?
Answer: He said “Be it so” and disappeared instantly.
65. What was the final action of Nārada and the audience after the Lord’s disappearance?
Answer: Nārada bowed to the feet of Śrī Hari and other ascetics, and all the members of the audience, delighted by the Bhāgavata story and with their delusions dispelled, left the assembly.
66. Where were Bhakti, Jñāna, and Vairāgya established for their protection?
Answer: They were established in the Bhāgavata scripture by Śuka.
67. What does the Bhāgavata loudly proclaim its power to secure?
Answer: It proclaims its power to secure eternal happiness to those tormented by poverty and misery, those under the influence of Māyā, and those caught in the cycle of birth and death.
68. When did Śrī Śuka begin his exposition of Śrīmad Bhāgavata to King Parīkṣit?
Answer: He started on the ninth of the bright fortnight (Navamī) of the month of Bhādrapada, after thirty years of the start of the Kali age.
69. When did Gokarṇa commence his exposition of the Bhāgavata?
Answer: He commenced it on the ninth of the bright half (Navamī day) of Āṣāḍha, two hundred years after Parīkṣit’s hearing.
70. When did Brahmā’s sons (Sanaka and others) begin their exposition of the Bhāgavata to Nārada?
Answer: They commenced it on the ninth of the bright fortnight (Navamī day) of Kārttika, thirty years after Gokarṇa’s exposition.
71. What is the Bhāgavata-story described as in the Kali age?
Answer: It is described as a panacea for the ailment of Saṃsāra.
72. What warning does Yama give to his officer regarding those who are joyful in the stories of the Lord?
Answer: He whispers to avoid people inebriated with the joy in the Lord’s stories, as Yama has no authority over the devotees of Śrī Viṣṇu.
