Question: I have read in one of Srila Prabhupada’s book that Srimad Bhagavatam is one of the eighteen puranas. As we know Vyasadeva compiled all Vedic scriptures and he was not satisfied. Later on Narada Muni came and advised him to compile the Srimad Bhagavatam and then He wrote it. How then is Srimad Bhagavatam considered to be one of the 18 puranas? If it is so then there is a conflict in time sequence. Please clarify.
Answer by Romapada Swami:
Vyasadev did compile all the eighteen puranas including Bhagavat Purana, along with the four Vedas, Upanishads and Vedanta sutra. But he had only composed the essence of the Bhagavatam, not the entirety of Srimad Bhagavatam’s 18,000 slokas.
Later on, Narada censured Srila Vyasadev for not having sufficiently glorified the Absolute Truth as much as he had dwelt on the materialistic religious principles. Following Narada’s directions, Vyasa then proceeded to first perfect his own realization when in a trance of devotional meditation he actually saw the Supreme Lord in His fullness, along with His internal and external potencies; he also saw how the conditioned souls can become free by the process of bhakti yoga. (Cf. SB 1.7.4-6) In that stage of mature realization, he then expanded the essence of Srimad Bhagavatam to its full 18000 slokas, composed as a natural commentary on the Vedanta sutra as well as Gayatri Mantra, and a work exclusively dedicated to the glorification of Krishna and the process of pure devotional service.
