---
type: Reference
bundle: cosmology-creation
bundle_version: "0.7.2"
id: bhagavata-purana
title: "Bhāgavata Purāṇa"
description: "Vaishnava maha-purana; Krishna's life and the dashavatara frame, a primary source for lila and creation accounts."
timestamp: "2026-07-01T00:00:00Z"
iast: "Bhāgavata Purāṇa"
devanagari: "भागवत पुराण"
text: "Bhāgavata Purāṇa"
text_division: "12 Skandhas (Books)"
language: "Classical Sanskrit"
approximate_date: "c. 800-1000 CE (final compilation; earlier strata possibly 500-700 CE)"
tags: [purana, bhagavata, vaishnava, cosmology, kala, yuga, pralaya, avatara, vishnu]
okf_version: "0.2"
license: "CC BY-SA 4.0"
---

# Bhāgavata Purāṇa

## Text Overview

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa (Śrīmad Bhāgavatam) is the most theologically elaborate of the 18 Mahā-Purāṇas and the central text of Vaiṣṇava cosmology and devotion. Its 12 Skandhas (books) contain 18,000 verses covering cosmology, cosmogony, the Kāla system (Yugas, Kalpas, Manvantaras), the nature of Brahman/Viṣṇu/Bhagavān, Avatāra theology, bhakti, and liberation. The tenth Skandha (on Kṛṣṇa) is the most widely read section.

## Key Passages for Cosmology-Creation Bundle

**Skandha 1:**
- 1.2.23 -- Trimūrti-Guṇa allocation: Brahmā/Rajas/Sṛṣṭi, Viṣṇu/Sattva/Sthiti, Śiva/Tamas/Saṃhāra
- 1.3 -- Avatāra list: gives 22 named Avatāras and states "they are innumerable"

**Skandha 2:**
- 2.1.23-39 -- Virāṭ / cosmic body homology: sky = skull, sun = eyes, etc.
- 2.5.18 -- Māyā-Śakti as Brahman's productive power
- 2.5-6 -- Cosmogonic sequence (the Purāṇic answer to the Nāsadīya's open question)

**Skandha 3:**
- 3.11 -- The Kāla system: definition of paramāṇu (atom of time) through Kalpa; nesting hierarchy of time units; 4:3:2:1 Yuga ratio
- 3.26.12-49 -- Detailed Sāṃkhya-inflected tattva sequence including tanmātras and Pañcamahābhūtas

**Skandha 5:**
- 5.24 -- Description of the Pātāla realms as beautiful, not hellish
- 5.20-26 -- Sapta-Loka and 14-Loka cosmography; Brahmāṇḍa structure

**Skandha 6:**
- 6.16.37 -- Multiple Brahmāṇḍas floating in the Brahman-ocean; many-worlds cosmology

**Skandha 10:**
- 10.33.26 -- Rāsa Pañcādhyāya; Kṛṣṇa's Līlā as the highest expression of divine beauty
- 10.87.14 -- Sandhini-Samvit-Hlādinī as Bhagavān's three Śaktis (Vaiṣṇava parallel to Icchā-Jñāna-Kriyā)

**Skandha 12:**
- 12.4 -- Four types of Pralaya: Nitya, Naimittika, Mahā, Ātyantika; authoritative classification

## Tradition and Authority

The Bhāgavata Purāṇa is considered by many Vaiṣṇava traditions (especially Gauḍīya Vaiṣṇavism) to be the natural commentary on the Brahma Sūtras, written by Vyāsa himself after he had completed the Mahābhārata and the Sūtras but felt the need for a text that expressed Brahman-realization through devotion (bhakti). The Bhāgavata's synthesis of Sāṃkhya tattva cosmology with Vaiṣṇava theology makes it the single most important source for Purāṇic cosmology across this bundle.

## Primary Concepts Using This Reference

- kala.md, yuga.md, mahayuga.md, kalpa.md, manvantara.md (time system)
- srishti.md, sthiti.md, samhara.md, pralaya.md (cosmic functions and dissolution)
- trimurti.md, avatara.md, ishvara-cosmological.md (theology)
- virat.md, brahmanda.md, sapta-loka.md (cosmography)
- panchamahabhuta-cosmological.md, trigunas-cosmological.md (tattva)
- maya-cosmological.md, shakti-cosmological.md, lila-cosmological.md (Śakti)
- iccha-jnana-kriya-shakti.md (Śakti triad)
