The flow of dialogues in the Srimad Bhagavatam

Just like the other Puranas, the Srimad Bhagavatam is composed of dialogues of great personalities. However, following the flow of these dialogues can be challenging. At some points five of six levels

Just like the other Puranas, the Srimad Bhagavatam is composed of dialogues of great personalities. The original dialogue narrated in the book is the conversation between Sukadeva Goswami and Maharaja Pariksit, which is repeated with a few additions by Suta Goswami to the sages in Naimisharanya. This dialogue is in turn repeated to us by Srila Vyasadeva, who compiled the book.

Suta Goswami starts his discourse to the sages by speaking directly, describing the different incarnations of Krsna, the story of Vyasadeva being inspired by Narada Muni to write the Srimad Bhagavatam and so on, up to the decision of Maharaja Pariksit of fasting until death after being cursed by Srngi and his meeting with Sukadeva Goswami. From the start of the second canto, Suta Goswami starts repeating the conversation between Sukadeva Goswami and Maharaja Pariksit. This adds another level into dialogue, since now we have Suta Goswami repeating verses spoken by Sukadeva Goswami to Maharaja Pariksit. In the third canto, another layer is introduced: Sukadeva Goswami starts to narrate the conversation between Vidhura and Maytreya, and therefore we have Sukadeva Goswami repeating verses spoken by Maytreya, and Suta Goswami repeating everything to the sages in Naimisharanya. This goes on up to the end of the fourth canto. Maitreya in his turn also quotes from other conversations, and thus we have at some points five of six levels of dialogues one on top of the other. Keeping track of all these different dialogues can be quite a challenge.

Let's try to better understand the different dialogs presented in the Srimad Bhagavatam:

Vyasadeva speaks

Although the whole Srimad Bhagavatam was compiled by Srila Vyasadeva, he speaks only the book's first five verses. He starts with a preface (the first three verses), and then a short introduction (verses 4 and 5), describing the scene of the conversation between Suta Goswami and the sages in the forest of Namisharanya. After these five verses, he starts narrating the recitation of the Srimad Bhagavatam by Suta Goswami.

Before compiling the Srimad Bhagavatam, Vyasadeva had compiled all the other books that comprise the Vedas, including the four Vedas, the 18 Puranas, the Mahabharata, and so on (as described in SB 1.4.17-25). However, even after concluding such an arduous task, he was still dissatisfied.

The problem was that although these works arduously explained different philosophical truths, none of his works Vyasadeva had directly discussed pure devotional service to Krsna. This deficiency was identified by his spiritual master, Srila Narada Muni, who instructed him to compile the Srimad Bhagavatam, making clear the ultimate conclusion of the Vedas, which is pure devotional service to the Lord.

Before compiling the Srimad Bhagavatam, Srila Vyasadeva had compiled two books that are related to it. The first is the original Bhagavata Purana, one of the 18 Puranas. This book was an embryonary form of the Srimad Bhagavatam, which was spoken to Sukadeva Goswami. This narration was expanded by him, resulting in the main portion of the Srimad Bhagavatam, narrated to Maharaja Pariksit. The word "suka" means parrot. It's said that when a parrot bites a ripe fruit with his beak, it becomes even sweeter. Similarly, Sukadeva Goswami made the Bhagavata Purana originally composed by Srila Vyasadeva even sweeter by adding his own spiritual realization.

Suta Goswami was present in the assembly, and he later repeated the narration to the sages of Naimisharanya, including his own contributions. This second narration of the Srimad Bhagavatam that happened in the forest of Naimisharanya became the final version of the book eternalized by Srila Vyasadeva.

One could ask when exactly Vyasadeva wrote the Srimad Bhagavatam. Did he wait until it was narrated to the sages in Naimisharanya? Apparently not. Vyasadeva had a perfect vision of the past present and future. It appears that after being instructed by Srila Narada Muni, he sat in meditation and was able to directly see these events and write the Srimad Bhagavatam in the same way it was later spoken by Suta Goswami.

At first, this idea may sound strange, but that's how many other books with transcendental literature were written. Sukadeva Goswami also described events that will happen in the future in the 12th canto of Srimad Bhagavatam. When Sanatana Goswami wrote the Brhad Bhagavatamrta, he was able to see in his meditation a narration that happened 4500 years before, when Maharaja Pariksit narrated the conclusions of the Srimad Bhagavatam to his mother Uttara. Similarly, Srila Bhaktivinoda Thakura wrote in his Jaiva Dharma about events that happened hundreds of years before his time.

While regular mortals can only write about things they directly experienced or heard from others, perfect souls can speak without barriers about events that happened in the past, as well as events that will happen in the future, according to what is relevant to the audience.

Suta Goswami speaks the Srimad Bhagavatam to the sages in Namisharanya

The dialogue between Suta Goswami and the sages starts on SB 1.1.6 and goes all the way to SB 12.13.23, the last verse of Srimad Bhagavatam. All the other dialogues, including the conversation between Sukadeva Goswami and Maharaja Pariksit, are included in this long conversation. In different parts of the Srimad Bhagavatam, we may have Suta Goswami speaking directly with the sages, or narrating different conversations that were included in the dialogue between Sukadeva Goswami and Maharaja Pariksit.

Apart from a few questions between these different conversations, the parts directly spoken by Suta Goswami and the sages include the first canto and the second half of the 12th canto, going from 12.6.8 to the end of the book.

- Sukadeva Goswami speaks to Maharaja Pariksit

The main portion of the Srimad Bhagavatam is composed of the dialogue between Sukadeva Goswami and Maharaja Pariksit. In the first canto, Suta Goswami answers questions from the sages and narrates the different events that led to this epic discussion, including how Pariksit Maharaja was saved in the womb, how Narada Muni instructed Srila Vyasadeva to compile the Srimad Bhagavatam, Vidura instructing Drtarastra, Pariksit Maharaja being cursed by Srngi, etc.

The dialogue between Sukadeva Goswami and Maharaja Pariksit starts on SB 2.1.1 and goes all the way to SB 12.6.7. During his explanations, however, Sukadeva Goswami includes other dialogues between great personalities, which add other layers to the conversation. Here is a short list of the most prominent, which may help to better understand the flow of the Srimad Bhagavatam:

Vidura speaks to Maitreya Muni

During most of the second canto, Sukadeva Goswami describes rather technical topics about the creation and structure of the universe. These topics are important since they help us to understand the greatness of Krsna and see Him everywhere, including inside the material creation. The first and second canto of Srimad Bhagavatam are considered to represent the lotus feet of the Lord since they give us preliminary knowledge that puts us in the right state of understanding to be able to appreciate the topics described in the other cantos.

However, this description of the universe didn't completely satisfy the sages in Naimisharanya, who were anxious to hear about other transcendental subjects. In the last verses of the second canto, we go back to the conversation between Suta Goswami and the sages, with Saunaka Rsi inquiring about the topic of Vidura leaving home (which was already partially described in the first canto), as well as his enlightening conversation with Maitreya Muni.

Coincidently, Pariksit Maharaja made a similar inquiry to Sukadeva Goswami, and thus Suta Goswami could just continue transmitting the narration of Sukadeva Goswami, without having to move to a separate topic. On his purport to SB 3.1.3, Srila Prabhupada mentions: "Exactly as Śaunaka Ṛṣi inquired of Sūta Gosvāmī and Sūta Gosvāmī replied, so Śrīla Śukadeva Gosvāmī replied to King Parīkṣit’s inquiries. The King was very anxious to understand the meaningful discussion that took place between the two great souls."

Back to the conversation between Sukadeva Goswami and Maharaja Pariksit, we start the third canto with Sukadeva describing the travelings of Vidura after leaving home and his meeting with Uddhava, who gives him a condensed account of the pastimes of Krsna and instructs him to inquire further from Maitreya, who is nearby.

Thus, starting from SB 3.4.2, Sukadeva Goswami narrates the great dialogue between Vidura and Maitreya Muni. This dialogue goes all the way up to the end of the 4th canto, ending on SB 4.31.29.

In this portion of Srimad Bhagavatam, Maitreya Muni starts by describing the process of creation (further clarifying some of the topics discussed in the 2nd canto) and soon turns into describing the pregnancy of Diti in the evening, the fight between Lord Varaha and Hiranyaksa, the marriage of Kardama Muni and the teachings of Lord Kapila, the pastime of Daksa offending Lord Shiva, the pastime of Dhruva Maharaja, the history of King Vena and the advent of Prthu Maharaja, as well as the history of king Prachinabarhi, the allegory of Puranjana and the history of the Pracetas. Except for the killing of Hiranyaksa, these are events that happened earlier in the history of the universe, mainly during the reign of Svayambhuva Manu (the 1st manu).

During this large portion of the Srimad Bhagavatam, we have 4 layers of dialogues, with Vyasadeva narrating the conversation of Suta Goswami with the sages, who narrates Sukadeva Goswami speaking to Maharaja Pariksit, who in turn narrates the conversation between Vidura and Maitreya. At some points Maitreya quotes from other conversations, adding more layers, but these are relatively short conversations that are easy to follow if we don't lose track of the main flow.

Narada Muni speaks to Maharaja Yudhistira

At the end of the 4th canto, the focus of the conversation returns to Sukadeva Goswami and Pariksit Maharaja. During the 5th canto, they discuss the activities of Priyavrata and Agnidra, the teachings of Lord Rsabhadeva, the history of the three births of Bharata Maharaja and his teachings to King Rahūgaṇa, culminating with the description of the structure of the universe.

After hearing the description of the hellish planets, Maharaja Pariksit becomes compassionate with the suffering conditioned souls and enquires about how they can be saved from such hellish torments. This leads to the description of the pastime of Ajamila at the beginning of the 6th canto. This is followed by the description of the activities of Daksa in his second birth during the reign of the 6th Manu (Cākṣuṣa), his begetting of numerous children, his cursing of Narada Muni, and so on. The remaining verses in the 6th canto are dedicated to describing the history of Indra ofending his spirtual master and fighting with Vrtrasura, the history of King Citraketu, and the vow of Diti for revenging the death of her sons.

In the 7th canto, Pariksit Maharaja inquires about the apparent partiality of the Lord in siding with the demigods. This led Sukadeva Goswami to narrate another great conversation, this time between Narada Muni and Maharaja Yudhisthira. The conversation starts on SB 7.1.16 and goes up to 7.15.86, at the end of the canto.

This conversation narrates in detail the history of Hiranyakashipu, including his austerities and the blessings he gained from Lord Brahma, his persecution of Prahlada Maharaja, and the pastime of his being killed by Lord Nrshinhadeva. After the description of the pastime, Maharaja Yudhisthira inquires about the special characteristics of the Varnasrama system, and Narada Muni gives a detailed answer, according to the knowledge he received from Lord Narayana.

Narada instructs Vasudeva

After the discussion between Narada Muni and Maharaja Yudhisthira, the focus goes back to Sukadeva Goswami, who continues to directly answer the questions of Maharaja Pariksit during the 8th, 9th, and 10th cantos. The 8th canto is centered around the pastime of the elephant Gajendra and the churning of the milk ocean by the demons and demigods, as well as a description of the manus, the advent of Vamanadeva and the second appearance of Matsya avatara. The 9th canto narrates many different stories, including the pastime of Ambarisha Maharaja being offended by Dhruvasa Muni, Lord Rama, Parasurama, and Yayati. The 10th canto is of course the culmination of the discussion, when the personal pastimes of the Lord are directly discussed.

The 11th canto explains the mystery of the disappearance of Krsna and the Yadhu dynasty. During this important canto, the focus changes again to two other great discussions narrated by Sukadeva Goswami. The first is the meeting of Vasudeva, the father of Krsna and Narada Muni when Narada visited his home in Dwaraka. Vasudeva inquires from Narada Muni about liberation, which prompts Narada to describe to him the conversation between Maharaja Nimi and the Nine Yogendras. This is a very important conversation that discusses the nature of devotional service. It starts on 11.2.4, after the description of the curse of the Yadhu dynasty, and goes up to 11.5.50.

Krsna instructs Uddhava

Most of the 11th canto is centered around the conversation between Krsna, Uddhava, and Maitreya, where He directly instructs them about devotional service. This part of the 11th canto is called the Uddhava-Gita. Just like we should study the instructions Krsna gave to Arjuna in the Bhagavad-Gita, we should also the instructions he gave to Uddhava in the Uddhava-Gita to better understand the science of devotional service.

This discussion happened before the events of the 3rd canto. After instructing Uddhava and Maitreya, Krsna played the pastime of His disappearance. Uddhava then departed to Badrarikasrama and met Vidura on the way. After hearing from him and Maitreya, Vidura went back to the palace in Hastinapura to help his brother Drtarastra achieve liberation, which is in turn narrated in the 1st canto.

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