Question: Apart from the known allegorical stories in the Bhāgavata, can we take the rest of the pastimes as literal? I ask because the cosmology in the Fifth Canto is different from modern astronomy. Even cosmology according to Sūrya Siddhānta is quite different from the Bhāgavata. Are the cosmology and other pastimes in the Bhāgavata then
Hearing about Kṛṣṇa is the first step in bhakti. There are various scriptures that describe stories about Kṛṣṇa. Among them, Śrīmad Bhāgavata Purāṇam is the supreme. Therefore, hearing it is the supreme. Śrī Jīva Gosvāmī states this in the following two short anucchedas of Bhakti Sandarbha. Anuccheda 260 The Preeminence of the Words of Bhāgavata Purāṇa Even
In the Sixth Canto, 17th Chapter, there is a description of King Citraketu who was travelling in space in his airship, surrounded by hundreds of beautiful celestial women, called Vidyādharīs, who are famous for their melodious singing. Citraketu engaged in the kīrtana of Bhagavān, accompanied by these beautiful lady singers.
The Purpose of Story-Telling The intention of Śrī Vyāsa is not to give us historical information, but to impart transcendental knowledge. Still there may be historical facts articulated to convey the intended meaning. Śrī Śukadeva Gosvāmī makes this clear in the verse: kathā imās te kathitā mahīyasāṁ vitāya lokeṣu yaśaḥ pareyuṣām vijñāna-vairāgya-vivakṣayā vibhovaco-vibhūtīr na tu
Chapters four through seven of the First Canto of Śrīmad Bhāgavat Purāṇa relays the story of how Śrī Vyāsadeva composed the present version of this tremendous work. After arranging the One Veda into four, he wrote eighteen Purāṇas, including the original version of Bhagavat Purāṇa, the Mahābhārata and the Vedānta Sūtra. Even after such prolific
As similar example can be found in the story of the churning of the milk-ocean by the devas and asuras. (Devas are those who live responsibly, looking after the condition of nature and the world. Asuras are materialistic people whose prime interest is sense gratification, regardless of its effect on nature and the world).
According to Jīva Gosvāmī (in Tattva Sandarbha, Anuccheda 26.2), there are three ways to instruct: like a king, like a friend, or like a beloved. The Vedas instruct like a king, giving direct instructions. The Purāṇas teach like a friend by giving stories which have a moral. And books of Sāhitya (Indian literature) teach indirectly.
