Even after he has composed the awesome Mahabharata, the Maharishi Vyasa finds no peace. Narada Muni says to him, Ordinary men will be delighted by your work, but what about the Sages of heaven and earth? You have described the human life, its strife and its ends, but you have not yet described the Lord himself. You must turn your great gift to that task; only then will you find peace. Veda Vyasa composes the Bhagavata Purana, in eighteen thousand slokas and twelve kandas. He teaches it to his illumined son Suka, who narrates the Secret Purana to Yudhishtira s heir, King Parikshit, on the banks of the Ganga. The Bhagavata Purana is a living embodiment of the Lord Narayana and claims to bestow moksha merely by being heard. Just before Krishna, the Avatara, leaves the world, Uddhava says to him, leave us a tangible form, Lord, in which we can find you, touch you, and be near you. Krishna enters the Bhagavata Purana with all of his being. This book is a full literary rendering of the Bhagavata Purana, bringing all the wonder, wisdom and grace of the Book of God to the modern reader.

A seamless blend of fable and philosophy, the Bhagavata Purana is perhaps the most revered text in the Vaishnava tradition. It brings to life the legends of gods, asuras, sages and kings-all the while articulating the crucial ethical and philosophical tenets that underpin Hindu spiritualism. The narrative unfolds through a series of conversations and interconnected stories. We are told how the sage Vyasa was inspired by Narada to compose the Bhagavata Purana as a means to illumine the path to a spiritual life. We learn of the devotion of Prahlada, the austerity of Dhruva, and the blinding conceit of Daksha. Also recounted are tales of the many incarnations of Vishnu, especially Krishna, whom we see grow from a beloved and playful child to a fierce protector of the faithful.

From the author of what has become the standard edition of The Yoga Sutras of Patañjali, an exploration of probably the most significant tradition in Hinduism, along with a rendering of key texts and parables from that tradition Bhakti Yoga explores one of the eight “limbs” of yoga. In the simplest terms, bhakti yoga is the practice of devotion, which is the essential heart of yoga and of Hinduism in general. In recent times, the term has come to be used in a rather simplistic way to refer to the increasingly popular practice of kirtan, or chanting in a group or at large gatherings. But bhakti yoga is far more complex and ancient than today’s growing kirtan audiences are aware, and embraces many strands and practices. Edwin F. Bryant focuses on one famous and important school of bhakti and explores it in depth to show what bhakti is and how it is expressed. And he supplies his own renderings of central texts from that tradition in the form of “tales and teachings” from an important work called the Bhagavata Purana, or “The Beautiful Legend of God.” This clarifying work establishes a baseline for understanding, and will be welcomed by all serious students of the spiritual heritage of India.

The Bhāgavata Purāna is a versatile Hindu sacred text containing more than 14,000 Sanskrit verses. Finding its present form around the tenth century C.E., the work inspired several major north Indian devotional traditions as well as schools of dance and drama, and continues to permeate popular Hindu art and ritual in both India and the diaspora.

Shrimad Bhagavat is renowned as one of the greatest compositions in Sanskrit Literature. The 18th Purana composed by Maharishi Veda-Vyasa, it stands unparalleled in its distinct and resplendent exaltation of devotion to God, revealing throughout the quintessence of Vedantic teachings. Masterfully profound and delightfully enchanting, Shrimad Bhagavat abounds in work-paintings of the supreme Lord's wondrous and endearing avatars, divine sports and devotees - paintings that kindle, intensity and establish devotion in one's heart. This spring of devotion leads one to satsang, to the Guru and to teachings that unveil one's essential nature of Brahman.

This book published by Advaita Ashrama, a publication house of Ramakrishna Math, Belur Math, India is an explanation of select verses of Srimad Bhagavata, the great devotional scripture. The focus of the text has been in presenting the episodes connected with Lord Krishna from the Bhagavata, The original text and translation of these select verses has also been given.