Skandapurana 2.6.4

The venerable seers said:

Well done, Sūta! Live long! Instruct us thus for a long time!

From your mouth the unprecedented glorification of the Śrī Bhāgavata has been heard.

State its essential nature, its measure, and the rule for its hearing.

Speak now, O Sūta, of the characteristics of its speaker and of its listener.

Śrī Sūta said:

The essential nature of the Śrīmad Bhāgavata and of the Blessed Lord

is always one and the same, characterized by being, consciousness, and bliss.

Know indeed that to be the Bhāgavata: that speech which wells forth

revealing his sweetness to devotees attached to Śrī Kṛṣṇa;

and know that to be the Bhāgavata: speech intent upon the four limbs—knowledge, experiential wisdom, devotion, and the rest—

and capable of crushing Māyā.

Who indeed knows the measure of it, infinite and consisting of the Imperishable?

Its direction was shown to Brahmā by Hari through four verses.

By plunging into its infinity, only those—

Brahmā, Viṣṇu, Śiva, and the others, O brahmins—are capable of conveying what they themselves desire.

And for the benefit of human beings whose mental faculties are limited,

there is this dialogue between Parīkṣit and Śuka, which was sung by Vyāsa,

the text of eighteen thousand verses named the Bhāgavata;

it alone is the supreme refuge for those seized by the crocodile of Kali.

Now the listeners who take refuge in stories of Śrī Viṣṇu are described:

listeners are considered to be of two kinds: superior and inferior.

The superior are celebrated as the cātaka bird, the swan, the parrot, the fish, and others;

the inferior are celebrated as the wolf, the bhūruṇḍa bird, the bull, the camel, and others.

He who, disregarding everything else, is vowed to hearing the scripture of Kṛṣṇa,

he is a cātaka, like the cātaka bird intent on the water released by a cloud.

A listener who extracts the essence from diverse scriptures is [like] a swan,

just as a swan [takes] pure milk from water that has blended with milk. // 13

A parrot speaks well and concisely, delighting both the narrator and the listeners,

just as a well-trained parrot delights its teacher and the bystanders. // 14

Tasting the aesthetic sentiment, an unblinking [listener] never makes a sound;

the affectionate listener is a fish, just like a fish in the ocean of milk. // 15

He who, an ignoramus, howls and torments the appreciative listeners is indeed a wolf,

just as a wolf [harms] deer in the forest who are engrossed in the sweet sound of a flute. // 16

A bhūruṇḍa instructs others after hearing, but does not practice it himself,

just like the bird named bhūruṇḍa on the peak of the Himālaya. // 17
A bull, whose mind is blind to the essential and non-essential, takes in all that is heard,

just as a bull [eats] sweet grapes and oil-cake without distinction. // 18

He who abandons what is sweet and delights in what is contrary is a camel,

just as a camel feeds on neem, abandoning even a mango tree joined with it. // 19

There are also many other varieties of both, such as bees, donkeys, and others,

which are to be recognized by their respective conducts arising from their respective natures. // 20

He who, having stood facing [the speaker] and bowed according to rule, leaving aside other discourse, desires to hear the playful deeds of Hari, highly skilled, humble, with folded hands;

a disciple, trustworthy, devoted to contemplation, fond of questioning, pure, ever dear to the people of Kṛṣṇa—he indeed is declared by speakers to be [the ideal] listener. // 21

He whose mind is fixed on the Lord, who is free from expectation, a friend, compassionate toward the distressed,

clever in explaining in many ways—such a speaker is honored by sages. // 22

Now, concerning the service of the Śrībhāgavata in the land of Bhārata,

hear, O brahmins, the procedure by which a continuous succession of happiness may arise. // 23

Rājasika, sāttvika, tāmasika, and likewise nirguṇa:

the service of the Śrībhāgavata is to be known as fourfold. // 24

That which is [performed for] seven days like a sacrifice, with effort, in haste, with joy,

attended upon with many worships and the like, is the rājasika one. // 25

Hearing [it] over a month or a season, accompanied by relish,

effortless, increasing all bliss, is the sāttvika one. // 26

That which is performed over a year, lethargic, yet endowed with faith,

accompanied by forgetting and remembering—such service is tāmasika, and brings happiness. // 27

Relinquishing the rigid adherence to rules of years, months, and days,

service performed solely through loving devotion at all times is considered nirguṇa. // 28

Even in the dialogue with Parīkṣit, it was proclaimed as nirguṇa;

there, the seven-day narration was due to the count of the days of his life. // 29

Elsewhere, whether of the three guṇas or nirguṇa, according to one's wish,

service to the Lord's scripture is to be performed in whatever manner possible. // 30

Those who are greedy to relish only the worship of Śrī Kṛṣṇa's sports,

having no longing even for liberation—to them the Bhāgavata is their wealth. // 31

And those who are despondent from the torment of saṃsāra and long for liberation,

for them this medicine for worldly existence is to be served with effort in the Kali [age]. // 32

And those who delight in sense objects, desiring worldly pleasures,

for them, whatever perfection is attainable through the path of works is now, in the Kali [age],

extremely difficult to attain due to the lack of capacity, wealth, and specialized knowledge;

therefore, the sacred story of the Bhāgavata should be resorted to even by them. // 34

Wealth, sons, and wives, vehicles and the like, fame, houses,

and rival-less sovereignty—the Bhāgavata story can bestow all this. // 35

Having enjoyed excellent, mentally desired pleasures in this world,

at the end, through contact with the Śrībhāgavata, one goes to the abode of Śrī Hari. // 36

Where the Bhāgavata discourse takes place and whoever is devoted to hearing it—

one should render service to them with one's body and with one's wealth. // 37

By their grace, he too obtains the service of the Śrībhāgavata.

Whatever is apart from Śrī Kṛṣṇa is all designated as 'wealth'. // 38

A listener or speaker is considered two-fold: one seeking Kṛṣṇa, and one seeking wealth.

As the speaker is, so is the listener; there happiness increases. // 39

When there is a discrepancy between the two, a semblance of sentiment results in the loss of the fruit;

however, for those seeking Kṛṣṇa, perfection arises even after a delay. // 40

The perfection of one who seeks wealth depends upon the completeness of the ritual rule;

for one who seeks Kṛṣṇa, even if lacking merit, love alone is the supreme rule. // 41

Until completion, the ritual rule must indeed be observed personally by one who has desires.

Having bathed, performed the daily rites, and tasted the foot-nectar of Hari, // 42

and having worshipped both the book and the guru with the proper offerings,

he should speak or listen to the Śrīmad Bhāgavata with joy. (43)

He should eat in silence, either on milk or on sacrificial fare (haviṣya);

he should observe celibacy, sleep on the ground, and avoid anger, greed, and the like. (44)

At the end of the recitation, he should always perform chanting (kīrtana); at its conclusion, he should keep a night-vigil.

Having fed the brahmins, he should please them with sacrificial gifts. (45)

Having given garments, ornaments, and the like to the guru, he should also offer a cow.

When the procedure is thus performed, he obtains the desired fruit: (46)

a wife, a house, sons, kingship, wealth, and whatever else is desired.

However, acting with desire is not appropriate here; it is a mockery. (47)

It brings about the attainment of Kṛṣṇa, bestowing the fruit of eternal bliss of divine love;

the scripture Śrīmad Bhāgavata was spoken in the Kali [age] by the parrot-like Śuka. (48)

Thus ends the fourth chapter in the Śrīmadbhāgavatamāhātmya, in the second, Vaiṣṇava section of the venerable Skanda Mahāpurāṇa, in the collection of eighty-one thousand [verses]. (4)

Thus ends the Śrībhāgavatamahāpurāṇamāhātmya in the second, Vaiṣṇava section of the venerable Skanda Mahāpurāṇa. (2.6)