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“
Srimad-Bhagavatam – Canto One
” by His Divine Grace A.C. BhaktivedantaSwami Prabhupada.Summary: Srimad-Bhagavatam is compared to the ripened fruit of Vedicknowledge. Also known as the Bhagavata Purana, this multi-volume workelaborates on the pastimes of Lord Krishna and His devotees, and includesdetailed descriptions of, among other phenomena, the process of creationand annihilation of the universe. His Divine Grace A.C. BhaktivedantaSwami Prabhupada considered the translation of the Bhagavatam his life’s work.COPYRIGHT NOTICE: This is an evaluation copy of the printed version ofthis book, and is NOT FOR RESALE. This evaluation copy is intended forpersonal non-commercial use only, under the “fair use” guidelinesestablished by international copyright laws. You may use this electronicfile to evaluate the printed version of this book, for your own privateuse, or for short excerpts used in academic works, research, studentpapers, presentations, and the like. You can distribute this evaluationcopy to others over the Internet, so long as you keep this copyrightinformation intact. You may not reproduce more than ten percent (10%) ofthis book in any media without the express written permission from thecopyright holders. Reference any excerpts in the following way:“Excerpted from “Srimad-Bhagavatam” by A.C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiPrabhupada, courtesy of the Bhaktivedanta Book Trust International, www.Krishna.com .”This book and electronic file is Copyright 1972-2003 Bhaktivedanta BookTrust International, 3764 Watseka Avenue, Los Angeles, CA 90034, USA. All rights reserved. For any questions, comments, correspondence, or toevaluate dozens of other books in this collection, visit the website ofthe publishers, www.Krishna.com .Table of ContentsFirst Canto"Creation"PrefaceWe must know the present need of human society. And what is that need?Human society is no longer bounded by geographical limits to particularcountries or communities. Human society is broader than in the Middle Ages, and the world tendency is toward one state or one human society.The ideals of spiritual communism, according to Srimad-Bhagavatam, arebased more or less on the oneness of the entire human society, nay, ofthe entire energy of living beings. The need is felt by great thinkers to make this a successful ideology. Srimad-Bhagavatam will fill this need inhuman society. It begins, therefore, with the aphorism of Vedantaphilosophy janmady asya yatah to establish the ideal of a common cause.Human society, at the present moment, is not in the darkness ofoblivion. It has made rapid progress in the field of material comforts,education and economic development throughout the entire world. But thereis a pinprick somewhere in the social body at large, and therefore thereare large-scale quarrels, even over less important issues. There is needof a clue as to how humanity can become one in peace, friendship andprosperity with a common cause. Srimad-Bhagavatam will fill this need,
 
for it is a cultural presentation for the respiritualization of theentire human society.Srimad-Bhagavatam should be introduced also in the schools andcolleges, for it is recommended by the great student-devotee PrahladaMaharaja in order to change the demoniac face of society.kaumara acaret prajnodharman bhagavatan ihadurlabham manusam janmatadapy adhruvam arthadam(Bhag. 7.6.1)Disparity in human society is due to lack of principles in a godlesscivilization. There is God, or the Almighty One, from whom everythingemanates, by whom everything is maintained and in whom everything is merged to rest. Material science has tried to find the ultimate source ofcreation very insufficiently, but it is a fact that there is one ultimatesource of everything that be. This ultimate source is explainedrationally and authoritatively in the beautiful Bhagavatam, or Srimad-Bhagavatam.Srimad-Bhagavatam is the transcendental science not only for knowingthe ultimate source of everything but also for knowing our relation withHim and our duty toward perfection of the human society on the basis ofthis perfect knowledge. It is powerful reading matter in the Sanskritlanguage, and it is now rendered into English elaborately so that simplyby a careful reading one will know God perfectly well, so much so thatthe reader will be sufficiently educated to defend himself from theonslaught of atheists. Over and above this, the reader will be able toconvert others to accepting God as a concrete principle.Srimad-Bhagavatam begins with the definition of the ultimate source. Itis a bona fide commentary on the Vedanta-sutra by the same author, SrilaVyasadeva, and gradually it develops into nine cantos up to the higheststate of God realization. The only qualification one needs to study thisgreat book of transcendental knowledge is to proceed step by stepcautiously and not jump forward haphazardly like with an ordinary book.It should be gone through chapter by chapter, one after another. Thereading matter is so arranged with its original Sanskrit text, itsEnglish transliteration, synonyms, translation and purports so that oneis sure to become a God-realized soul at the end of finishing the firstnine cantos.The Tenth Canto is distinct from the first nine cantos because itdeals directly with the transcendental activities of the Personality ofGodhead Sri Krsna. One will be unable to capture the effects of the TenthCanto without going through the first nine cantos. The book is completein twelve cantos, each independent, but it is good for all to read them in small installments one after another.I must admit my frailties in presenting Srimad-Bhagavatam, but still Iam hopeful of its good reception by the thinkers and leaders of societyon the strength of the following statement of Srimad-Bhagavatam (1.5.11):tad-vag-visargo janatagha-viplavoyasmin prati-slokam abaddhavaty apinamany anantasya yaso 'nkitani yacchrnvanti gayanti grnanti sadhavah"On the other hand, that literature which is full with descriptions ofthe transcendental glories of the name, fame, form and pastimes of theunlimited Supreme Lord is a transcendental creation meant to bring abouta revolution in the impious life of a misdirected civilization. Suchtranscendental literatures, even though irregularly composed, are heard,sung and accepted by purified men who are thoroughly honest."
 
Om tat satA. C. Bhaktivedanta SwamiDated at DelhiDecember 15, 1962IntroductionThe conception of God and the conception of Absolute Truth are not onthe same level. The Srimad-Bhagavatam hits on the target of the AbsoluteTruth. The conception of God indicates the controller, whereas theconception of the Absolute Truth indicates the summum bonum or theultimate source of all energies. There is no difference of opinion aboutthe personal feature of God as the controller because a controller cannotbe impersonal. Of course modern government, especially democraticgovernment, is impersonal to some extent, but ultimately the chiefexecutive head is a person, and the impersonal feature of government issubordinate to the personal feature. So without a doubt whenever we referto control over others we must admit the existence of a personal feature.Because there are different controllers for different managerialpositions, there may be many small gods. According to the Bhagavad-gitaany controller who has some specific extraordinary power is called avibhutimat sattva, or controller empowered by the Lord. There are manyvibhutimat sattvas, controllers or gods with various specific powers, butthe Absolute Truth is one without a second. This Srimad-Bhagavatam designates the Absolute Truth or the summum bonum as the param satyam.The author of Srimad-Bhagavatam, Srila Vyasadeva, first offers hisrespectful obeisances unto the param satyam (Absolute Truth), and becausethe param satyam is the ultimate source of all energies, the param satyam is the Supreme Person. The gods or the controllers are undoubtedlypersons, but the param satyam from whom the gods derive powers of controlis the Supreme Person. The Sanskrit word isvara (controller) conveys theimport of God, but the Supreme Person is called the paramesvara, or thesupreme isvara. The Supreme Person, or paramesvara, is the supremeconscious personality, and because He does not derive any power from anyother source, He is supremely independent. In the Vedic literaturesBrahma is described as the supreme god or the head of all other gods likeIndra, Candra and Varuna, but the Srimad-Bhagavatam confirms that evenBrahma is not independent as far as his power and knowledge areconcerned. He received knowledge in the form of the Vedas from theSupreme Person who resides within the heart of every living being. ThatSupreme Personality knows everything directly and indirectly. Individualinfinitesimal persons, who are parts and parcels of the Supremepersonality, may know directly and indirectly everything about theirbodies or external features, but the Supreme Personality knows everythingabout both His external and internal features.The words janmady asya suggest that the source of all production, maintenance or destruction is the same supreme conscious person. Even inour present experience we can know that nothing is generated from inert matter, but inert matter can be generated from the living entity. Forinstance, by contact with the living entity, the material body developsinto a working machine. Men with a poor fund of knowledge mistake thebodily machinery to be the living being, but the fact is that the livingbeing is the basis of the bodily machine. The bodily machine is uselessas soon as the living spark is away from it. Similarly, the originalsource of all material energy is the Supreme Person. This fact isexpressed in all the Vedic literatures, and all the exponents ofspiritual science have accepted this truth. The living force is calledBrahman, and one of the greatest acaryas (teachers), namely Sripada
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