An Overview of the First Three Verses of the Bhagavata

Since ancient times, Srimad Bhagavata occupies a central place in the spiritual horizon of India. Through the Bhagavata, Sage Vyasa has brought together all the great Brahma Sutras, the Mahabharata, the seventeen Puranas, and his other works. The great proclamation made in the Bhagavata is that the non-dual reality. Brahman, which is attributeless, formless and transcendent to mind and speech, assumes a divine form with attributes and incarnates in this world in every age. This incarnation blesses the world and the devotees with ultimate wellbeing and joy. In the words of Sri Ramakrishna, Bhagavata is that extremely delicious sweet which has been fried in the clarified butter of knowledge and steeped in the honey of love. This paper attempts to expound the first three verses of the Bhagavata, where Sage Vyasa has wonderfully presented the harmony of the spiritual paths of knowledge, action, devotion and yoga.