Bhagavata Purana
A king with seven days to live asks what a dying man should hear. The sage Shuka answers with the Bhagavata — the stories of Dhruva, Prahlada and above all Krishna's childhood in Vrindavan. Why is it called the ripe fruit of the tree of the Vedas?
The verse
Seven days to live
King Parikshit, grandson of Arjuna, was cursed to die of a snakebite in seven days. He gave up his kingdom and sat by the Ganga, asking the sages: what should a person do who is about to die? The young sage Shuka, son of Vyasa, arrived and for seven days told him the Bhagavata Purana. The Bhagavata Saptaha — a seven-day recitation — is still held across India in memory of those days.
The ripe fruit
The Bhagavata calls itself "the ripe fruit of the wish-fulfilling tree of the Vedas" (1.1.3), made sweeter by falling from the mouth of Shuka, the parrot. In its twelve cantos and about 18,000 verses, the tenth canto — the life of Krishna — is the heart. It begins with a mother, a prison and a stormy night…
The journey continues for members
- Krishna in Vrindavan
- Other beloved stories
- Its influence
- For life today
Sources
- Bhagavata Purana — Cantos 1, 4, 7, 8, 10, 11