Our Sanatana Dharma proclaims that the goal of human birth is to get out of the cycle of births and deaths. The Vedas, Upanishads, and Puranas and all conceivable religious literature lay stress on this purpose of human birth.

To attain or reach such goal, several ways have been prescribed; for instance, Bhagavat Gita, which is a compendium of the dialogue between Lord Krishna and His Protégé Arjuna on the battle field of Kurukshetra, says that Karma, Jnana and Bhakti are the three principal ways of reaching the goal of human birth.

In practice, we find that it is rather difficult, nay, impossible to tread any of the three paths stated above, having regard to the materialistic way of life being lived and adopted by us. In such a situation are we helpless? Is there no way of redemption for us?

Sri Sri Swamiji advises us that there is indeed a solution which can be followed by one and all.

His Holiness, who has Himself attained the Eternal Bliss of Communion with the Lord, prescribes the reading of Srimad Bhagavatam as a panacea for our immediate problems of life and also as a path for attaining the goal of human birth. The instances of King Parikshit who was cursed to die on the seventh day on being bitten by the serpent king Thakshaka, and one Dhundukari, who was moving around as an evil spirit, are examples of those who were liberated by merely listening to the exposition of Srimad Bhagavatam. According to Him, if mere listening to Srimad Bhagavatam can take one to such dizzy heights, the efficacy of study of Srimad Bhagavatam need not be emphasized.

In the words of His Holiness, Srimad Bhagavatam is verily the Lord Himself and It glorifies the Names of the Lord as well as the efficacy of chanting of the Names of the Lord. His Holiness instances the story of Ajamila, a Brahmin by birth, who, having fallen into evil ways, cried out for his son Narayana by name at the time of Ajamila’s death and was liberated. This instance cited by His Holiness is vividly described in Srimad Bhagavatam.

Therefore, His Holiness, a practical philosopher that He is, asserts categorically that a true religion must necessarily provide a practical mode of redemption for the man-in-the-street as well as the down trodden; if it does not, it is no religion, says His Holiness.

Such an easy-to-follow way of redeeming oneself is Srimad Bhagavatam. His Holiness feels that Srimad Bhagavatam, having been couched in Sanskrit, is not accessible to many. Therefore He has enjoined the faithful translation of Srimad Bhagavatam into English so that one and all can benefit from a study of such a great Purana.

Nama Dwaar humbly presents to its readers the translation of the Slokas of this great Purana. We start with the first Sloka of the first chapter in the first canto, and with the will of the Lord and blessings of Sri Sri Swamiji, hope to update the other slokas regularly.

A happy feature of this translated version is that it will be interspersed with the rich expositions of His Holiness on Srimad Bhagavatam.