Texts 43-44
prahrādasyānucaritaṁ
mahā-bhāgavatasya ca
bhaktir jñānaṁ viraktiś ca
yāthārthyaṁ cāsya vai hareḥ
sarga-sthity-apyayeśasya
guṇa-karmānuvarṇanam
parāvareṣāṁ sthānānāṁ
kālena vyatyayo mahān
[NEED TO PASTE FOOTNOTE!]
prahrādasya — of Prahlāda Mahārāja; anucaritam — characteristics (understood by reading or describing his activities); mahā-bhāgavatasya — of the great and exalted devotee; ca — also; bhaktiḥ — devotional service unto the Supreme Personality of Godhead; jñānam — complete knowledge of the Transcendence (Brahman, Paramātmā and Bhagavān); viraktiḥ — renunciation of material existence; ca — also; yāthārthyam — just to understand each of them perfectly; ca — and; asya — of this; vai — indeed; hareḥ — always in reference to the Supreme Personality of Godhead; sarga — of creation; sthiti — maintenance; apyaya — and annihilation; īśasya — of the master (the Supreme Personality of Godhead); guṇa — of the transcendental qualities and opulences; karma — and activities; anuvarṇanam — description within the disciplic succession*; para-avareṣām — of different types of living entities known as demigods and demons; sthānānām — of the various planets or places to live; kālena — in due course of time; vyatyayaḥ — the annihilation of everything; mahān — although very great.
This narration describes the characteristics of the great and exalted devotee Prahlāda Mahārāja, his staunch devotional service, his perfect knowledge, and his perfect detachment from material contamination. It also describes the Supreme Personality of Godhead as the cause of creation, maintenance and annihilation. Prahlāda Mahārāja, in his prayers, has described the transcendental qualities of the Lord and has also described how the various abodes of the demigods and demons, regardless of how materially opulent, are destroyed by the mere direction of the Lord.
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is filled with descriptions of the characteristics of various devotees, with reference to the service of the Lord. This Vedic literature is called Bhāgavatam because it deals with the Supreme Personality of Godhead and His devotee. By studying Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam under the direction of the bona fide spiritual master, one can perfectly understand the science of Kṛṣṇa, the nature of the material and spiritual worlds, and the aim of life. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam amalaṁ purāṇam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the spotless Vedic literature, as we have discussed in the beginning of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Therefore, simply by understanding Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, one can understand the science of the activities of the devotees, the activities of the demons, the permanent abode and the temporary abode. Through Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, everything is perfectly known.