In Śrīmad Bhāgavata, Sūta Gosvāmī says:

strī-śūdra-dvija-bandhūnāṁ trayī na śruti-gocarā
karma-śreyasi mūḍhānāṁ śreya eva bhaved iha
iti bhāratam ākhyānaṁ kṛpayā muninā kṛtam

"Seeing that women, śūdras, and the unqualified among the twice-born classes were prevented even from hearing the Vedas, the great sage [Vyāsa], moved by compassion, compiled the great historical narration called Mahābhārata so that those who were unaware of how to act for ultimate good might also attain auspiciousness." (SB 1.4.25)

The verse cited above means that Śrīla Vyāsa compiled Mahābhārata for the benefit of humanity in general.

Similarly, in the Third Canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavata Vidura says to Maitreya Muni:

munir vivakṣur bhagavad-guṇānāṁ
sakhāpi te bhāratam āha kṛṣṇaḥ
yasmin nṛṇāṁ grāmya-sukhānuvādair
matir gṛhītā nu hareḥ kathāyām

"Your friend, the great sage Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa, composed his great work, Mahābhārata, with the intention of describing the transcendental qualities of Śrī Bhagavān. In this work, he has drawn the attention of the mass of people to the descriptions of Śrī Hari by embedding them within the framework of mundane topics." (SB 3.5.12)

Śrīla Jīva Gosvāmī quotes the following two verses to show that Mahābhārata is equal to the Vedas

strī-śūdra-dvija-bandhūnāṁ trayī na śruti-gocarā
karma-śreyasi mūḍhānāṁ śreya eva bhaved iha
iti bhāratam ākhyānaṁ kṛpayā muninā kṛtam

"Seeing that women, śūdras, and the unqualified among the twice-born classes were prevented even from hearing the Vedas, the great sage [Vyāsa], moved by compassion, compiled the great historical narration called Mahābhārata so that those who were unaware of how to act for ultimate good might also attain auspiciousness." (SB 1.4.25)

munir vivakṣur bhagavad-guṇānāṁ
sakhāpi te bhāratam āha kṛṣṇaḥ
yasmin nṛṇāṁ grāmya-sukhānuvādair
matir gṛhītā nu hareḥ kathāyām

"Your friend, the great sage Kṛṣṇa-dvaipāyana Vyāsa, composed his great work, Mahābhārata, with the intention of describing the transcendental qualities of Śrī Bhagavān. In this work, he has drawn the attention of the mass of people to the descriptions of Śrī Hari by embedding them within the framework of mundane topics." (SB 3.5.12)

The "munir vivakṣur bhagavad-guṇānāṁ" verse (SB 3.5.12) shows how Śrīla Vyāsa compiled Mahābhārata for the benefit of humanity in general and to draw the attention of the mass of people to the descriptions of Lord Hari. To fulfill His intention, Vyāsa included Bhagavad Gītā in the Mahābhārata.

After Śrīla Vyāsa compiled the four Vedas, there still remained one billion verses from the original Yajur Veda. These verses became the original Purāṇa, which is still available in the celestial planets. Out of compassion for the people of Kaliyuga, Vyāsadeva extracted five hundred thousand essential verses from this original Purāṇa. Four hundred thousand of these he divided into the eighteen Purāṇas. The remaining verses formed the Itihāsa called Mahābhārata. The Itihāsas and Purāṇas are therefore called the fifth Veda because they were produced from the original Veda.

The cosmos exists for the duration of Śrī Brahmā’s life, one hundred years according to his time scale, in which one day lasts for one thousand cycles of the four yugas— Satya, Tretā, Dvāpara, and Kali.

By human calculation, therefore, a day of Brahmā lasts 4,320,000,000 years. For managerial purposes he divides each of his days into fourteen periods, called manvantaras.

Four kinds of laya or dissolution are described in the Bhāgavata purāṇa – pṛākrta laya (SB 12.4.22), naimittika pralaya (SB 12.4.4), ātyantika laya (SB 12.4.34) and nitya-laya (SB 12.4.35).

Constant dissolution (nitya-laya) refers to the self ’s daily dissociation from gross and subtle forms occurring in deep dreamless sleep. Total dissolution (prākṛta-laya) occurs when Hiraṇyagarbha, or Brahmā, dies at the end of his life span and the whole cosmos is dissolved. Occasional dissolution (naimittika-laya) takes place at the end of Hiraṇyagarbha’s day when the lower planets up to Svarloka are destroyed. Ultimate dissolution (ātyantika-laya) transpires when a person becomes liberated through Brahman realization or by becoming free of avidyā, the very root cause of the universe.

During the total dissolution everything in the cosmos becomes unmanifest, a state called prakṛti or pradhāna. In this state, the three guṇas of primordial nature remain in a state of equilibrium. Creation cannot begin again until the guṇas are destabilized and thrown out of balance.

This same principle applies to human beings: When a person is satisfied, peaceful, and equipoised, he will not initiate some new activity; some stimulus must unsettle his equilibrium and motivate him to act. One engages in sex, for example, when one’s mind and body are stimulated by lust or the desire to procreate.

The original perturbation in pradhāna is caused by the glance of the Supreme Lord, with which He impregnates prakṛti (primordial nature), with the conditioned jīvas.

Śrī Kṛṣṇa confirms this in Bhagavad Gītā, “The vast material nature, called Brahman, is My womb, into which I sow the seed of living beings” (mama yonir mahad brahma tasmin garbhaṁ dadāmy aham, Gītā 14.3).

Here, the word brahma means prakṛti, not Bhagavān’s feature as absolute unqualified being.

The jīva experiences three states — wakefulness, dreaming and deep sleep — but these states are modifications of the faculty of intellect (buddhi) combined with the three guṇas of material nature.

Wakefulness is the result of buddhi mixed with sattva-guṇa; dreaming, with rajo-guṇa; and deep sleep, with tamo-guṇa.

In Anuchheda 99 from the Bhagavat Sandarbha, Śrī Jīva begins by quoting a famous verse from the Viṣnu Purāṇa:

hlādinī sandhinī samvit tvayy ekā sarva-saṁsthitau hlāda-tāpa-karī miśrā tvayi no guṇa-varjite

The one energy, having the three divisions of hlādinī (bliss), sandhinī (eternal existence) and samvit (knowing), exists in you, the support of everything. But the energy that yields material happiness, misery and their mixture, does not abide in you, because You are free from the gunas. (VP 1.12.69).

The idea is that Bhagavān, who is one, has only one intrinsic energy or svarūpa śakti, but this energy is divided into three because He has three aspects to Him: sat, cit and ānanda (ekasyaiva tattvasya saccidanandatvachaktirapyeka tridha bhidyate). Śrī Jīva identifies this one svarūpa śakti as viśuddha sattva. The viśuddha sattva is divided into hlādinī (bliss), sandhinī (eternal existence) and samvit (knowing) energies, which have distinct functions.

Śrī Jīva defines viśuddha sattva as follows:

tad evaṁ tasyā mūla-śaktes try-ātmakatvena siddhe yena sva-prakāśatā-lakṣaṇena tad-vṛtti-viśeṣeṇa svarūpaṁ vā svayaṁ svarūpa-śaktir vā viśiṣṭaṁ vāvirbhavati tad viśuddha-sattvam

That is viśuddha sattva,

• which is a specific function of the original energy or mūla śakti (here Śrī Jīva is referring to the “one energy” bolded in the translation above),
• which has the characteristic of being self-revealing,
• by which Bhagavān’s svarūpa [Brahman], or Bhagavān’s svarūpa śakti, or Bhagavān’s form become manifest,
• which is untouched by māyā [and is therefore called viśuddha].

Because viśuddha sattva has the nature of being self-revealing, it can be analyzed based on what it reveals or manifests. Based on its different self-revealing functions, viśuddha sattva also takes on different names.

1. When the viśuddha sattva is dominated by its sandhinī aspect, it is called ādhāra śakti, or the śakti of support. Śrī Jīva explains that the ādhāra śakti is what manifests or reveals the abode of the Lord to a worshipper. It is also the śakti by which His abode exists and is sustained.
2. When dominated by samvit, viśuddha sattva is called ātma-vidyā. ātma-vidyā reveals self-knowledge to a worshipper.
3. When dominated by hlādinī, viśuddha sattva is called guhya-vidyā. guhya-vidyā means uttamā bhakti which exists in His abode, and which also functions to reveal itself to the worshipper.
4. When all three aspects are prominent at the same time, viśuddha sattva is called mūrti, or the form of Bhagavān. Bhagavān’s form exists through its function and it also reveals the form of Bhagavān to another.
5. The function of viśuddha sattva of revealing the form of Bhagavān is also called Vasudeva. Bhagavān is called Vāsudeva, which means He manifests in or is perceived in the state of Vasudeva, and also that He dwells in or exists in the state of Vasudeva. This state is one of pure being (viśuddha), devoid of any tinge of māyā.

arundhatī-pradarśana-nyāya is the technique of pointing out the star Arundhatī.

It is customary in Vedic culture to show this star to a bride just after her marriage, as Arundhatī is the protector of chaste womanhood. But it is not so easy to spot this star. To indicate it, the priest first points to the constellation
called Saptarṣi (the Seven Sages), or Ursa Major. Next he points to one of the stars in Ursa Major, and finally to Arundhatī, which is next to the star named Vasiṣṭha.