suta uvaca
sa upamantrito rajna
kathayam iti sat-pateh
brahmarato bhrsam prito
visnuratena samsadi
sutah uvaca -- Srila Suta Gosvami said; sah -- he (Sukadeva Gosvami); upamantritah -- thus being inquired; rajna -- by the King; kathayam -- in the topics; iti -- thus; sat-pateh -- of the highest truth; brahma-ratah -- Sukadeva Gosvami; bhrsam -- very much; pritah -- pleased; visnu-ratena -- by Maharaja Pariksit; samsadi -- in the meeting.
Srimad-Bhagavatam can be legitimately discussed only among the devotees of the Lord. As the Bhagavad-gita was authoritatively discussed between Lord Krsna and Arjuna (the Lord and the devotee respectively), similarly Srimad-Bhagavatam, which is the postgraduate study of the Bhagavad-gita, can also be discussed between the scholars and devotees like Sukadeva Gosvami and Maharaja Pariksit. Otherwise the real taste of the nectar cannot be relished. Sukadeva Gosvami was pleased with Maharaja Pariksit because he was not at all tired of hearing the topics of the Lord and was more and more anxious to hear them on and on with interest. Foolish interpreters unnecessarily tackle the Bhagavad-gita and Srimad-Bhagavatam when they have no access to the subject matter. There is no use in nondevotees' meddling with the two topmost Vedic literatures, and therefore Sankaracarya did not touch Srimad-Bhagavatam for commentation. In his commentation on the Bhagavad-gita, Sripada Sankaracarya accepted Lord Krsna as the Supreme Personality of Godhead, but later on he commented from the impersonalist's view. But, being conscious of his position, he did not comment on the Srimad-Bhagavatam.
Srila Sukadeva Gosvami was protected by Lord Krsna (vide Brahma-vaivarta Purana), and therefore he is known as Brahmarata, and Sriman Pariksit Maharaja was protected by Visnu, and thus he is known as Visnurata. As devotees of the Lord, they are always protected by the Lord. It is clear also in this connection that a Visnurata should hear Srimad-Bhagavatam from Brahmarata and no one else because others misrepresent the transcendental knowledge and thus spoil one's valuable time.
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