Devanagari
प्राह भागवतं नाम पुराणं ब्रह्मसम्मितम् ।
ब्रह्मणे भगवत्प्रोक्तं ब्रह्मकल्प उपागते ॥ २८ ॥
Verse text
prāha bhāgavataṁ nāma
purāṇaṁ brahma-sammitam
brahmaṇe bhagavat-proktaṁ
brahma-kalpa upāgate
Synonyms
prāha
—
he said
;
bhāgavatam
—
the science of the Personality of Godhead
;
nāma
—
of the name
;
purāṇam
—
the supplement of the Vedas
;
brahma
—
sammitam — just in pursuance of the Vedas
;
brahmaṇe
—
unto Lord Brahmā
;
bhagavat
—
proktam — was spoken by the Personality of Godhead
;
brahma
—
kalpe — the millennium in which Brahmā was first generated
;
upāgate
—
just in the beginning .
Translation
He began to reply to the inquiries of Mahārāja Parīkṣit by saying that the science of the Personality of Godhead was spoken first by the Lord Himself to Brahmā when he was first born. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the supplementary Vedic literature, and it is just in pursuance of the Vedas.
Translation (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
He spoke the scripture called Bhāgavatam, the essence of the Vedas, which was spoken by the Lord to Brahmā in the first kalpa.
Purport
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
is the science of the Personality of Godhead. The impersonalist always tries to misrepresent the personal feature of the Lord, not knowing the science of this great knowledge, and
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam
is in pursuance of the
Vedas
and scientific knowledge of the Personality of Godhead. To learn this science one should take shelter of the representative of Śrī Śukadeva and follow in the footsteps of Mahārāja Parīkṣit without foolishly attempting to interpret, thereby committing a great offense at the feet of the Lord. The dangerous ways of interpretations by the nondevotee class of men have played havoc in understanding the
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam,
and the careful student should be always alert in this matter if he at all wants to learn the science of Godhead.
Commentary (Visvanatha Cakravarti Thakura)
Śukadeva then commenced to give the answers by reciting the Bhāgavatam. Brahma-kalpe means in the first day of Brahmā.