Krishna Vishwaroopam image
The Bhagavata, along with the Bhagavad Gita, are the main sources of scriptural authority used by Gaudiya Vaishnavas for demonstrating the pre-eminence of Krishna over other forms of God. An oft-quoted verse from the Bhagavata is used as a representational statement by Krishna sects to show that Krishna is”Bhagavan Svayam”, or God himself: “These [other incarnations] are aspects of god, , partial incarnations, but krishna bhagavan svayam sampoornam, ‘Krishna is Bhagavan, God himself (1.3.28)
The 15th–16th century Assamese translation- of the Purana (Bhagavat of Sankardeva) by Srimanta Sankardeva and others form the central text of theEkasarana Dharma, a monotheistic religion in Assam. Sankardeva’s rendering of the tenth Book, locally called daxama, is particularly popular.
The Puranas are a type of traditional Hindu texts that took form during the medieval period, often both informed by earlier material and undergoing later interpolations. It is therefore problematic to assign a precise date to any such text. The Bhāgavata Puraṇa itself is a typical case, a text transformed by oral tradition which reached its “basic final shape” at some stage during the Indian Middle Ages.
Scholarly consensus holds that the text was completed no later than around 1000 CE, when it is mentioned by al Biruni and quoted by Abhinavagupta; the earliest suggestions of it are the composition of the Vishnu Purana andHarivamsa, and the Vaishnava Bhakti movement in South India, which limit its composition to after 500 CE. Within this range, scholars such as R. C. Hazra date it to the first-half of the sixth century, while most others place it in the post-Alvar period around the ninth century. The final redactor of the text was emphasizing the texts claim to ancient origins by resorting to an archaizing Vedic flavour of Sanskrit.
The Bhagavata itself claims primordial origins, while accepting that it has since been edited by human and divine hands, the text and Hindu tradition ascribe its authorship to Veda Vyasa, who is also credited as the scribe for the Vedas.
The Bhāgavata is primarily a bhakti text, with an emphasis on achievingmoksha through cultivating a personal relationship with Vishnu in the form of Krishna. The philosophy and teachings of the Bhagavata include several traditions, and an absence of a “narrow, sectarian spirit”. While Bhakti Yoga is the prominent teaching, various passages show a synthesis that also include Samkhya, Yoga, Vedanta, and Advaita Vedanta.