The Bhagavata Purana (; ), also known as the Srimad Bhagavatam (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam), Srimad Bhagavata Mahapurana () or simply Bhagavata (Bhāgavata), is one of Hinduism's eighteen major popular Puranas (Mahapuranas) and central text in Vaishnavism. Composed in Sanskrit and traditionally attributed to Veda Vyasa, it promotes bhakti (devotion) towards Vishnu. Like other Puranas, it discusses a wide range of topics including cosmology, astronomy, genealogy, geography, legend, music, dance, yoga and culture.

The text consists of twelve books (skandhas or cantos) totalling 335 chapters (adhyayas) and 18,000 verses. The tenth book, with about 4,000 verses, has been the most popular and widely studied.

The Bhagavata Purana has Vaishnava theology that is grounded in the philosophical traditions of Vedanta and Samkhya, utilizing these systems in the service of bhakti. The dualistic school of Madhvacharya has commentaries expounding the dualistic interpretation of the Bhagavata, beginning with the Bhagavata Tatparya Nirnaya.

Nomenclature

  • <nowiki/>'Bhagavata'<nowiki/> (or <nowiki/>'<nowiki/>Bhagavatam<nowiki/>'<nowiki/> or 'Bhagavat', Sanskrit भागवत) means 'follower or worshipper of Vishnu'.
  • 'Bhagavan' (Sanskrit भगवन्) means 'Blessed One', 'God', or 'Lord'. Krishna – the transcendental, primeval Personality of Godhead, avatar of Vishnu – is directly referred to as 'Bhagavan' throughout this scripture. It is stated in canto 1, chapter 3, verse 28, "kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam" which A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada translates as, "Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead."
  • <nowiki/>'Purana'<nowiki/> (Sanskrit पुराण) means 'ancient' or 'old' (or 'old traditional history'). It also means 'complete' and 'completing'
  • <nowiki/>'Srimad' (or 'Srimat', Sanskrit श्रीमत्) means 'radiant', 'holy', 'splendid', or 'glorious', and is an honorific religious title.
  • 'Sri<nowiki/>'<nowiki/> (or <nowiki/>'<nowiki/>Shri<nowiki/>'<nowiki/> or 'Shree', Sanskrit श्री) means 'wealth'. Lakshmi – Goddess of Wealth and Vishnu/Krishna's wife – is also referred to as 'Sri'.
  • <nowiki/>'<nowiki/>Mad<nowiki/>'<nowiki/> (or 'Mat', Sanskrit मत्) means 'religion' or 'believed'.

Modern scholarship

Dating and origin

Modern scholarship dates its composition to between 500 CE to 1000 CE. and quoted by Abhinavagupta. Within this range, many scholars including Hardy, date its final redaction to the 9th or early 10th century.

However, many scholars argue for an earlier composition, placing much of the text in the Gupta period (4th–7th centuries CE): Dennis Hudson's study of the Vaikunda Perumal Temple at Kanchipuram provides iconographic evidence that the temple's sculptural panels and layout parallel the Bhagavata Purana, suggesting the text's narratives were already well-established by that era. Gupta and Valpey (2013) affirm this interpretation, concluding that Hudson's findings "convincingly suggest" an early, Gupta-period provenance for substantial portions of the Purana, while noting that arguments for a specifically South-Indian origin remain inconclusive. Bryant summarizes modern scholarship, stating that the Bhagavata Purana "might well have reached its final form by the Gupta period". This earlier dating is supported by its use of Vedic archaisms throughout the text, as well as dynastic lists that conclude before the Gupta era. Bryant also suggests that the text was likely composed in North India because northern references and "historical Puranic stories" are more numerous than southern ones.

In contrast, Sheridan argues that the Bhagavata Purana was written by a group of learned Brahmin ascetics, probably in South India, who were well versed in Vedic and ancient Indian literature and influenced by the Alvars. The Bhagavata Purana contains apparent references to the South Indian Alvar saints and it makes a post factum prophecy of the spread of Vishnu worship in Tamil country (BP XI.5.38–40); these facts, along with its emphasis on "emotional Bhakti to Krishna" and the "Advaita philosophy of Sankara", lead many scholars to trace its origins to South India. However, J. A. B. van Buitenen points out that 10th–11th CE South Indian Vaishnava theologians Yamuna and Ramanuja do not refer to Bhagavata Purana in their writings, and this anomaly must be explained before the geographical origins and dating are regarded as definitive.

Stated authorship and purpose

From the N. P. Jain for Motilal Banarsidass translation:

A unique and especial emphasis is placed on fostering transcendental loving devotion to Krishna as the ultimate good, i.e. for its own sake rather than for fruitive results or rewards such as detachment or worldly or heavenly gains, a practice known as Bhakti Yoga:

Puranic characteristics

thumb|Brahma see cosmic form of vishnu from Bhagavata purana series

As detailed in the Matsya Mahapurana, all Puranas must cover at least five specific subjects or topics referred to in Sanskrit as Pancha Lakshana (literally meaning 'consisting of five characteristics') – in addition to other information including specific deities and the four aims or goals of life. From the K. L. Joshi (editor) translation:

Srimad Bhagavatam covers ten characteristics, while lesser Puranas cover five characteristics. SB 2.10.1 lists the ten characteristics as: "the creation of the universe, subcreation, planetary systems, protection by the Lord, the creative impetus, the change of Manus, the science of God, returning home (back to Godhead), liberation and the summum bonum". Jiva Goswami explains that the ten characteristics in the Srimad Bhagavatam are spread across all twelve cantos. Each canto discusses different aspects of these topics with varying emphasis, covering all key aspects of human knowledge without following a strict order.

Manuscripts

thumb|220x220px|A Bhagavata Purana manuscript

According to Hariprasad Gangashankar Shastri, the oldest surviving manuscript dates to c. 1124-25 and is held in the Sampurnananda Sanskrit Vishvavidyalaya in Varanasi.

Poetic or artistic license with existing materials is a strong tradition in Indian culture, a <nowiki/>'tradition of several hundred years of linguistic creativity. There are variations of original manuscripts available for some Purana, The common manuscript for translations of the Bhagavata Purana – seemingly used by both Swami Prabhupada and Bibek Debroy – is the Bhāgavatamahāpurāṇam a reprint of Khemraj Shri Krishnadas' manuscript. In regard to variances in Puranic manuscripts, Gregory Bailey states:

Relation to other texts

The Bhagavata Purana aligns itself with canonical texts like Brahma Sutras and Rigveda by echoing their verses at various points throughout its narrative. It claims equality with the Vedas and reinterprets their themes to emphasize the supremacy of Krishna. It transforms the descriptions of Vishnu's deeds found in the Vishnu Sukta into narratives centered around Krishna's actions (verse 10.51.38). The Bhagavata Purana does not directly reference the Bhagavad Gita, which is part of the Mahabharata. Instead, it includes the teachings similar to those found in the Bhagavad Gita in the form of dialogues between Krishna and Uddhava in Canto 11.

Hindu Festivals

The stories in the Bhagavata Purana are also the legends quoted by one generation to the next in Vaishnavism, during annual festivals such as Holi and Diwali.

The International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) celebrates the promise of Canto 12, Chapter 13, Verse 13 by distributing sets of Srimad Bhagavatam leading up to the full-moon day of the month of Bhādra (Bhādra Purnima) in India and around the world.

Vaishnavism

thumb|180x180px|[[Chaitanya Mahaprabhu|Chaitanya (1486–1534 CE)|alt=]]

Gaudiya Vaishnavism

The Bhagavata has played a significant role in the emergence of the Krishna-bhakti (Gaudiya Vaishnavism) movement of Chaitanya (1486–1534 CE), in Bengal. The scriptural basis for the belief that Chaitanya is an avatar of Krishna is found in verses such as the following (Disciples of Swami Prabhupada translation):

Chaitanya is commonly referred to as 'Gauranga' in regards to His golden complexion (as detailed in the Gauranga article, the Sanskrit word 'ākṛṣṇaṁ' means 'not blackish' and 'golden'), and is most notable for popularising the Hare Krishna maha-mantra. In regards to not being explicitly named as an avatar (unlike others such as Kalki) in the Bhagavata, this is also explained (A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada translation):

The key word in this verse in regards to Krishna incarnating in the age of Kali Yuga is <nowiki/>'channaḥ' (Sanskrit छन्न), which means ' hidden', 'secret', or 'disguised'. In Gaudiya Vaishnavism, Chaitanya is accepted as a hidden avatar of Krishna who appeared in the age of Kali (also known as 'the Iron Age' and 'the age of quarrel') as His own devotee to show the easiest way to achieve Krishna Consciousness. Modern Gaudiya movements such as the Gaudiya Math (established by Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati in 1920) and others established by disciples of Bhaktisiddhanta Sarasvati, such as the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada in 1966) and the Sri Chaitanya Saraswat Math (by Bhakti Rakshak Sridhar in 1941), trace their disciplic lineages back directly to Chaitanya.

Other Vaishnava Traditions

In the 15th–16th century Ekasarana Dharma in Assam, a panentheistic tradition whose proponents, Sankardeva and Madhavdeva, acknowledge that their theological positions are rooted in the Bhagavata Purana, purged of doctrines that find no place in Assamese Vaishnavism and adding a monist commentary instead.

In northern and western India the Bhagavata Purana has influenced the Hari Bhakti Vilasa and Haveli-style Krishna temples found in Braj region near Mathura-Vrindavan. While the text focuses on Krishna "Narayana (Vishnu) himself appears and explains how Brahma and Shiva should never be seen as independent and different from him". The sixth book includes the feminine principle as Shakti, or goddess Devi, conceptualizing her as the "energy and creative power" of the masculine yet a manifestation of a sexless Brahman, presented in a language suffused with Hindu monism. According to T. S. Rukmani, the Bhagavata Purana is also significant in asserting that Yoga practice is a form of Bhakti.

The Arts

The Bhagavata Purana played a key role in the history of Indian theatre, music, and dance, particularly through the tradition of Ras Leela. These are dramatic enactments about Krishna's pastimes. Some of the text's legends have inspired secondary theatre literature such as the eroticism in Gita Govinda. While Indian dance and music theatre traces its origins to the ancient Sama Veda and Natyasastra texts, the Bhagavata Purana and other Krishna-related texts such as Harivamsa and Vishnu Purana have inspired numerous choreographic themes.

Many '<nowiki/>Ras plays dramatise episodes related in the Rasa Panchadhyayi ("Five chapters of the Celestial Dance"; Canto 10, Chapters 29–33) of the Bhagavatam. The Bhagavatam also encourages theatrical performance as a means to propagate the faith (BP 11.11.23 and 36, 11.27.35 and 44, etc.), and this has led to the emergence of several theatrical forms centred on Krishna all across India. Canto 10 of Bhagavatam is regarded as the inspiration for many classical dance styles such as Kathak, Odissi, Manipuri and Bharatnatyam. Bryant summarizes the influence as follows,

Modern reception

In the 20th century, the Bhagavata Purana became widely popular as it spread beyond India, translated into over twenty languages and respected by people worldwide.

Bhaktivedanta Swami

Bhaktivedanta Swami significantly impacted the global recognition of the Bhagavata Purana. Bhaktivedanta Swami, raised in a devout Vaishnava family, embraced the Caitanya tradition in 1932. Between 1962 and 1965, he devoted himself to translating the Bhagavata Purana into English, a departure from earlier works focusing on Caitanya's life and teachings. While lacking formal traditional education, he was deeply familiar with the teachings of Caitanya and the insights of ancient commentators through self-study. He made the Bhagavata Purana meaningful to modern readers, and his way of explaining the text made it easier to understand and relevant to modern world. He appealed to young people who were looking for something different from mainstream religion.

Commentaries and translations

Commentaries

The Bhagavata Purana is one of the most commented texts in Indian literature. There is a saying in Sanskrit – vidyā bhāgavatāvadhi – Bhāgavatam is the limit of one's learning. Hence throughout the centuries it attracted a host of commentators from all schools of Krishna worshippers. Over eighty medieval era Bhāṣya (scholarly reviews and commentaries) in Sanskrit alone are known, and many more commentaries exist in various Indian languages. According to Ravi M. Gupta, this commentary "exerted extraordinary influence on later Bhāgavata commentaries, and indeed, on Vaiṣṇava traditions more generally." This influence is "particularly true of the Caitanya Vaiṣṇava commentaries by Sanātana Gosvāmi, Jīva Gosvāmī, Viśvanātha Cakravartī, and others."

  • A commentary by Madhusūdana Sarasvatī () on the first verse of the Bhāgavata Purāṇa.

Acintya-bhedābheda Commentaries

  • Caitanya-mata-mañjuṣā – Śrīnātha Cakravartī
  • Bṛhad-vaiṣṇava-toṣiṇī – Sanātana Gosvāmī
  • Laghu-Vaiṣṇava-toṣiṇī – Jīva Gosvāmī
  • Krama-sandarbha – Jīva Gosvāmī
  • Bṛhat-krama-sandarbha – Jīva Gosvāmī (attributed)
  • Ṣaṭ-sandarbhas by Jīva Gosvāmī (16th century CE)
  • Sārārtha-darśinī – Viśvanātha Cakravartī (17th century CE) – elaborate commentary
  • Vaiṣṇavānandinī – Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa
  • Dīpika-dīpanī – Rādhāramaṇa Gosvāmī
  • Gauḍīya-bhāṣya – Bhaktisiddhanta Saraswati (20th century CE) – elaborate commentary
  • Bhaktivedānta Purports – A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (20th century CE) – elaborate commentary

Dvaita commentaries

  • Bhāgavata Tātparya Nirṇaya by Madhvacharya (13th century CE)
  • Pada-ratnavali by Vijayadhvaja Tīrtha (15th century CE) – elaborate commentary
  • Bhagvata Tatparya Nirnaya Tippani by Yadupati Acharya (16th century)
  • Duraghatabhavadipa by Satyabhinava Tirtha (17th century CE)
  • Bhaghavata-Sarodhara by Adavi Jayatirthacharya (18th century CE)
  • Srimadbhagavata Tippani by Satyadharma Tirtha (18th century CE)

Dvaitādvaita Commentaries

  • Siddhānta pradīpikā – Śuka-sudhī (Early 19th Century)

Suddhādvaita Commentaries

  • Subodhinī by Vallabha (incomplete — present on the First, Second, Third, Tenth Cantos and partially on the Eleventh Canto. He wanted to write commentary on the whole Bhagavatam but had no time as Bhagavan Krushna ordered him to come back to Nityaleela)
  • Bhāgavatārtha-prakaraṇa by Vallabha
  • Daśama-skandha anukramaṇikā by Vallabha
  • Ṭippaṇī – Gosvāmī Viṭṭhalanātha
  • Subodhinī-prakāśa – Gosvāmī Puruṣhottama
  • Bāla-prabodhinī – Gosvāmī Giridharalāla
  • Viśuddha-rasa-dīpikā – Kiśorī Prasāda

Viśiṣṭādvaita Commentaries

  • Śuka pakṣīyā – Sudarśana sūri (alias Vyāsa Bhaṭṭa)
  • Bhāgavata-candrikā – Vīrarāghava (14th century CE) – elaborate commentary
  • Bhakta-rañjanī – Bhagavat prasāda

Others

  • Hanumad-bhāṣya
  • Vāsanā-bhāṣya
  • Sambandhokti
  • Vidvat-kāmadhenu
  • Paramahaṁsa-priyā
  • Śuka-hṛdaya
  • Muktā-phala and Hari-līlāmṛta by Vopadeva
  • Bhakti-ratnāvali by Viṣṇupurī
  • Bhakti-ratnākara by Srimanta Sankardev
  • Ekanathi Bhagavata by Saint Eknath of Paithan (16th century CE, on the 11th Canto in the vernacular language of the Indian state of Maharashtra)
  • Narayaneeyam by Melpathur Bhattathiri of Kerala (1586, a condensed Srimad Bhagavatam)
  • Bhāvārtha-dīpikā-prakāśa – Vaṁśīdhara
  • Anvitārtha prakāśikā – Gaṅgāsahāya
  • Bhagavata-Purana by S.S. Shulba (2017, original Sanskrit); other Sanskrit manuscripts are available
  • A study of the Bhagavata Purana or Esoteric Hinduism by P.N. Sinha (1901)

Translations

The Bhagavata has been rendered into various Indian and non-Indian languages. A version of it is available in almost every Indian language, with forty translations alone in the Bengali language. with the publication of a French translation followed by an English one. The following is a partial list of translations:

Assamese

  • Bhagavata of Sankara (1449–1568 CE, primary theological source for Mahapurushiya Dharma in the Indian state of Assam)
  • Katha Bhagavata by Bhattadeva (Prose translation 16th century CE)

Bengali

  • Śrī Kṛṣṇa-vijaya by Maladhara Basu, a translation of the 10th Canto and a bit from others
  • Kṛṣṇa-prema-taraṅginī by Śrī Raghunātha Bhāgavatācārya (15th Century CE)

Gurmukhi

10th Book of Bhagvad Purana under title Krishna Avtar written by Guru Gobind Singh in Dasam Granth

Hindi

  • Bhagavata Mahapurana published by Gita Press (2017)

Kannada

  • Bhagavata Padaratnavali with kannada translation by Dr. Vyasanakere Prabhanjanachar
  • Bhagavata Saroddhara by VishnuTeertharu (Adavi JayatirthaCharyaru) with Kannada translation by Dr. Vyasanakere Prabhanjanachar
  • Bhagavata Mahatmya in PadmaPurana in Kannada Pravachana by Dr. Vyasanakere Prabhanjanachar
  • Bhagavata Mahapurana by Vidwan Motaganahalli Ramashesha Sastri (foreword by historian S. Srikanta Sastri)

Odia

  • Odia Bhagabata by Jagannatha Dasa (15th Century CE)

Telugu

  • Mahābhāgavatamu by the poet Bammera Pōtana (15th century CE).

English

  • The Śrīmad Bhāgavatam by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (1970–77, includes transliterations, synonyms, and purports). Swami Prabhupada completed cantos 1 through 9 and the first thirteen chapters of canto 10 before he died. After his departure, a team of his disciples completed the work, which was then published by the Bhaktivedenta Book Trust.
  • A prose English translation of Shrimadbhagabatam by M.N. Dutt (1895, unabridged)
  • Bhagavata Purana by Motilal Banarsidass Publishers (1950, unabridged)
  • The Srimad Bhagavatam by J.M. Sanyal (1970, abridged)
  • The Bhagavata Purana by Ganesh Vasudeo Tagare (1976, unabridged)
  • Śrīmad Bhāgavatam with the Sārārtha-darśinī commentary of Viśvanātha Cakravartī by Swami Bhānu (2010)
  • Srimad Bhagavata Purana by Anand Aadhar (2012)
  • The Bhagavata Purana by Bibek Debroy (2019, unabridged)

English (partial translations and paraphrases)

  • Kṛṣṇa: The Supreme Personality of Godhead by A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada (part translation, condensed version: summary study and paraphrase of Canto 10)
  • The Wisdom of God: Srimat Bhagavatam by Swami Prabhavananda (part translation, part summary and paraphrase)
  • The Uddhava Gita by Swami Ambikananda Saraswati (2000, prose translation of Canto 11)
  • Bhagavata Purana by Ramesh Menon (2007, a 'retelling' based on other translations)
  • Śrīmad Bhāgavatam: A Symphony of Commentaries on the Tenth Canto in six volumes (covering chapters 1-33) by Gaurapada Dāsa, M.A. (translator) & Matsya Avatāra Dāsa (editor) (2016–2018)
  • Bhakti Yoga: Tales and Teachings from the Bhagavata Purana by Edwin F. Bryant (2017, selections of verses and commentary)
  • Śrīmad Bhāgavatam with the Krama-sandarbha commentary of Jīva Gosvāmī by Swami Bhānu (2019)
  • Bṛhad-vaiṣṇnava-toṣaṇī (Canto 10) of Sanātana Gosvāmī by Swami Bhānu (2020)
  • Laghu-vaiṣṇava-toṣaṇī (Canto 10) of Jīva Gosvāmī by Swami Bhānu (2020)
  • Śrīmad Bhāgavatam with the Vaiṣṇavānandinī commentary (Cantos 1 & 10) of Baladeva Vidyābhūṣaṇa by Swami Bhānu (2022–23)

French

  • Bagavadam ou Bhagavata Purana by Maridas Poullé (1769)
  • Le Bhagavata Purana by Eugene Burnouf (1840)