[Advaita-l] bhAgavata purANa

[V. Krishnamurthy]

Namaste all
 
The great Sage Shuka narrated the Bhagavatam in seven days to King Parikshit and a large audience of silent listeners to the narration. This happened 30 years after Krishna left this world.  The next saptAha (seven-day rendering of the Bhagavatam) came 200 years after, by Gokarna. The next one was by Sanatkumara to Narada, 30 years later.
 
Suta Pauranika was one of the many who were in the audience at the first saptAha. Because of his extraordinary powers of memory he was chosen by a later  gathering ( probably several hundreds of years later) at Naimisaranya for recounting what he heard from Shuka on the banks of the Ganges.   Vyasa wrote the PurAna after this.
 
This is the traditional understanding.
 
A historical analysis of the dating is made in 
http://www.veda.harekrsna.cz/encyclopedia/sb.htm
 
PraNAms to all students of the Bhagavatam.
 
Prof. V. Krishnamurthy 
 
Latest addition to my website is the 4-page article on Krishnavatara, the Miraculous. Go to
http://www.geocities.com/profvk/HNG/Krishnavatarapage1.html