Using his power of illusion, the Supreme Lord creates the forms of being and non-being, or cause and effect. After creating, he enters into the creation and appears to have material qualities. Just like fire is hidden in wood, the Lord pervades all things.
Outwardly he appears to be the variety of all created things, but he is one. Thus, the Lord maintains the entire creation. To enjoy his pastimes he takes many avatar forms and in that way he protects the universe.
The first incarnation of the Lord was the Kumaras, the celibate sons of the creator god Brahma. They practised extremely difficult austerities in search of the truth. In the second incarnation, the Supreme Lord assumed the form of a boar and raised the earth from the lower regions of the universe.
In the third, the Lord took the form of the great sage Narada. He assembled descriptions from the Vedas which explain service to Vishnu and how by following those actions, the ropes of karma do not bind the soul. In the fourth incarnation, the Lord became the twin sages Nara and Narayana, the sons of King Dharma. He performed severe austerities and controlled his mind and senses.
In the fifth incarnation the Lord’s name was Kapila and he was preeminent among the sages. He explained the Sankhya philosophy to Asuri because this knowledge had been lost in the course of time. The sixth incarnation was the son of the sage Atri, who spoke about spiritual knowledge. The seventh incarnation was Yajna, who controlled the period during the change of Manu.
The eighth incarnation was King Rishaba. He demonstrated the path of renunciation which is respected by people in all stages of life. The Lord assumed the body of King Prthu in the ninth incarnation and milked the earth to produce all kinds of crops.
In his tenth incarnation, when the world was completely flooded, the Lord took the form of a fish and protected the Vedas and Vaivasvata Manu. For his eleventh incarnation, the Lord took the form of a tortoise and used his shell as a pivot for the Mandara mountain when the gods churned the ocean of milk.
In his twelfth incarnation he was Dhanvantari, and in his thirteenth he assumed the form of a woman, Mohini. He gave nectar to the gods to drink while their rivals were infatuated with his beauty in a female form. For his fourteenth, he assumed the man-lion form of Narasinha, and killed Hiranyakashipu by ripping his body apart with his sharp claws.
For his fifteenth incarnation, the Lord was the dwarf-brahmin Vamana. He wanted to recover the three worlds and so he begged three footsteps of land from Bali Maharaja. In the sixteenth incarnation, the Lord was angry that the kings were hostile to the brahmins and so he destroyed the ruling class from the earth twenty-one times.
In the seventeenth incarnation, the Lord appeared as Vyasadeva. He saw the intelligence of people was degenerating and so he divided the tree of the Veda into different branches. In the eighteenth incarnation, the Lord appeared as King Ramacandra and performed acts of great bravery.
In the nineteenth and twentieth incarnations, the Lord appeared as Balarama and Krishna in the Vrishni lineage to lessen the burden of the world.
Then, when the age of Kali begins, the Lord will appear as Lord Buddha and deceive the enemies of the gods. At the end of the age of Kali when the kings will be like robbers, the protector of the world will incarnate as Kalki, the son of Vishnuyasa.
Like rivers flowing from inexhaustible sources of water, there are countless incarnations of the Lord. Whenever the world is afflicted by the disturbances created by the impious people, the Lord appears and emancipates the world.
Anyone who devotedly, in the morning and the evening, narrates the mysterious births of the Lord will be freed from all sufferings.
Those who are wise describe the births and activities of the birthless and inactive Supreme Lord. He is the Lord of the heart and is undetectable even within the Vedic literature. Ignorant people cannot understand the performance of an actor.
Similarly, those who are less intelligent cannot comprehend, either by their mind or their words, the spiritual nature of the Lord’s forms, names and activities. If someone offers wholehearted and continuous service to the Supreme Lord, only then can they understand the creator of the universe.
The venerable sage Vyasadeva composed this Bhagavatam, the book of God. It is intended for the benefit of all the worlds and it is supremely conducive to the welfare of all. This Bhagavatam illuminates like the sun, and it has arisen after Lord Krishna departed to his own abode. It will give light to those lost in dark ignorance of the age of Kali.
Sri Vyasadeva distilled the essence of the Veda and the histories and composed this Bhagavatam. He then taught it to his son, Suka who is honoured among the self-realised sages.
When King Pariksit sat on the bank of the Ganges, fasting from food and water and awaiting death, Suka spoke this Bhagavatam to King Pariksit. I was present there in the audience and so I also heard the Bhagavatam from the great sage Suka. I shall now recite that same Bhagavatam to you, to the best of my ability and as I have learned it and personally realised it.
One of the sages in the audience addressed Suta Goswami and said, O great sage, could you please tell us when this Bhagavatam was first composed and why it was written? What inspired the great sage Vyasadeva to compose this literature? Suka Goswami was a great sage. How did the meeting between this great sage and King Pariksit take place?
King Pariksit was the best among those devoted to the Lord. Please tell us about his wonderful birth and activities. King Pariksit was such a magnanimous ruler even his enemies would come to bow down and pay tribute to him. He was young and possessed many royal pleasures. Why did he give up everything, including his life? Why did he sit down on the bank of the sacred river Ganges to fast until death?
Those who are devoted to the welfare and prosperity of the world, do not live for their own selfish interest but as the protector of others. King Pariksit was detached from the world, but his body protected many others so how could he give it up? We know that you are skilled in speaking on all these subjects, and so you can clearly tell us the answers to all these questions.
In answer to the questions of the sages Suta Goswami said, When he was creating the universe, Brahma received instructions from the Supreme Lord. When Brahma’s son, Narada, desired to know about the powers of the Supreme Lord he enquired in detail about it from his father.
Brahma then repeated the instructions he had received from the Supreme Lord and spoke this Bhagavatam to his son Narada. Narada then instructed the Bhagavatam to the sage Vyasadeva at his ashram on the bank of the River Sarasvati. Vyasadeva in turn explained it to his son Suka Goswami.
