Text 14
tavāpy etarhi kauravya
saptāhaṁ jīvitāvadhiḥ
upakalpaya tat sarvaṁ
tāvad yat sāmparāyikam
tava — your; api — also; etarhi — therefore; kauravya — O one born in the family of Kuru; saptāham — seven days; jīvita — duration of life; avadhiḥ — up to the limit of; upakalpaya — get them performed; tat — those; sarvam — all; tāvat — so long; yat — which are; sāmparāyikam — rituals for the next life.
Mahārāja Parīkṣit, now your duration of life is limited to seven more days, so during this time you can perform all those rituals which are needed for the best purpose of your next life.
Śukadeva Gosvāmī, after citing the example of Mahārāja Khaṭvāṅga, who prepared himself for the next life within a very short time, encouraged Mahārāja Parīkṣit by saying that since he still had seven days at his disposal, he could easily take advantage of the time to prepare himself for the next life. Indirectly, the Gosvāmī told Mahārāja Parīkṣit that he should take shelter of the sound representation of the Lord for the seven days still remaining in the duration of his life and thus get himself liberated. In other words, everyone can best prepare himself for the next life simply by hearing Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, as it was recited by Śukadeva Gosvāmī to Mahārāja Parīkṣit. The rituals are not formal, but there are also some favorable conditions, which are required to be carried out, as instructed hereafter.