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Mahapuranas Bhagvata
Though the Puranas or the holy books of the Hindus total eighteen in number, the Bhagavata Purana is undoubtedly the most impressive and sacred of them all. It could be because of the fact that this is one book that entirely talks of the life of Krishna, the most important Avatar of Lord Vishnu and also the one that comprises the Bhagavad Gita, considered to be the bible of the Hindus. The book is quite famous amongst the followers of the religion and there are people who read it every day as a daily practice.
The book is supposed to have been brought into origin by the Great Sage Vyasadeva. Sage Vyasa is accredited to have been the author of all the other Puranas as well, but in the case of the Bhagavata Purana he passed the story on to his son Sukadeva who on his part imparted the same to Parikchit who was the then ruler of the country of India. He was a representation of the common, normal mind with its negatives and confusion and lack of direction in reaching out to the Supreme. Therefore, the Bhagavata Purana is a guideline for all followers of Hinduism on how to live and attain the feet of the Sureme being.
Origin
Parikchit was the ruler of India and had his own weakness and needed guidance to understand the more detailed principles of Hindutva. He therefore took the help of Sage Sukadeva who guided him in the right way and paved the way for his right spiritual alignment. Sage Sukadeva took the help of his father and Guru, the great Sage Vyasa for the same and used the stories and principles from the book called Bhagavata Purana. Raja Parikchit, spread the good words in the book and this book became a universal must read for all followers of the religion.
The Structure of the Book
The book talks primarily about the Supreme God, Lord Krishna. This is one of the Puranas dedicated to the Lord Vishnu and focuses on his Krishna Avatar. While the book deals with the birth and life of Krishna, this book also talks about the alignment with the Supreme and always resorting to rightful means to be successful in life. The book starts with the birth of Krishna in the confines of the prison and tracks his life and the Gita Upadesh – which is the crux of the Bhagavadam or the Bhagavata Purana.
The book starts with the birth of Lord Krishna and starts with the power of the Great Lord. There are stories related to the birth where God intervenes and he is shifted to the home of Yashoda where he grows up with a lot of love and fun. The book then talks of the killing of Kamsa, the demon and uncle of Krishna and the God joining Devaki and Vasudeva his actual parents. It talks in detailed about his funny interactions with the young girls and how all of them are completely attracted to him and the melody of the tunes of his flute. He falls in love and gets married to Rukmani and that is another important chapter of the book.
The most important part of the book, though, comes when he joins the Pandavas and starts going on behalf of them to talk to the Kauravas to get them their rightful property. When everything fails, he shows Arjuna that He is the all Supreme power and all the good and the bad flow into and out of him and nobody is responsible or the reason for anything. He gives Arjuna the Gita Upadesh, which is the guideline for the life of any Hindu. Even today, this is considered to the most sacred Hindu Book, and even children are encouraged to follow the morals and rules stated in the book. As a result of the advice of Krishna, Arjun and the Pandavas continue the fight against their own brethren, Guru and other relatives and win the war. The Purana is also quite famous as it is linked to one of the most important epics of Hinduism, the Mahabharat. Therefore, the Bhagavata Purana is quite famous amongst the Hindus, unlike most other Puranas.
Other Religions Popularity
Eugene Burnouf translated a copy of the Bhagavata Purana into the European language of French way back in 1840 suggesting that the people of other religion were also keen to understand and observe the doctrines suggested in the book. Considering there are many copies of the book in French and English, there are no doubts that the book and its principles today have attained worldwide fame across the various religions.