Srimad Bhagavatam Canto 2

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, an epic philosophical and literary classic, holds a prominent position in India’s voluminous written wisdom. The timeless wisdom of India is expressed in the Vedas, ancient Sanskrit texts that touch upon all fields of human knowledge. Originally preserved through oral tradition, the Vedas were first put into writing by Śrīla Vyāsadeva, the “literary incarnation of God.” After compiling the Vedas, Śrīla Vyāsadeva was inspired by his spiritual master to present their profound essence in the form of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Known as “the ripened fruit of the tree of Vedic literature,” Śrīmad Bhāgavatam is the most complete and authoritative exposition of Vedic knowledge. After writing the Bhāgavatam, Vyāsa taught it to his son, Śukadeva Gosvāmī, who later spoke the Bhāgavatam to Mahārāja Parīkṣit in an assembly of sages on the bank of the sacred Ganges River. Although Mahārāja Parīkṣit was a great rājarṣi (saintly king) and the emperor of the world, when he learned he would die in seven days, he renounced his entire kingdom and retired to the bank of the Ganges to seek spiritual enlightenment. The questions of King Parīkṣit and Śukadeva Gosvāmī’s illuminating answers, concerning everything from the nature of the self to the origin of the universe, are the basis of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam.