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The Bhagavata Podcast
The Bhagavata Podcast invites listeners on an engaging journey through the Bhagavata Purana, more commonly known as the Srimad Bhagavatam. Each episode features conversations between scholars, many of whom are also practitioners, as they reflect on and analyze a chapter of this text together. The podcast offers a unique blend of academic rigor and personal insight, providing fresh perspectives that illuminate the beauty and uniqueness of the Bhagavatam.
In each episode, host Dr. Måns Broo, an esteemed scholar and Gaudiya Vaishnava practitioner, invites expert guests to reflect on a chapter of the Bhagavata Purana. Following a linear progression through the text, the discussions explore the philosophical, theological, and literary dimensions of the Bhagavatam, offering both traditional insights and modern academic interpretations. This thoughtful approach enables listeners to journey through the Bhagavata Purana chapter by chapter, uncovering the intricate teachings of this work.
The Bhagavata Podcast is an initiative supported by the Gaudiya Studies Research Programme of the Oxford Centre for Hindu Studies, furthering the mission of connecting living traditions with academic exploration.
The Bhagavata Podcast
1.9 The Passing Away of Bhishmadeva in the Presence of Lord Krishna with Radhika Raman Das
In this episode of the Bhagavata Podcast, Bhrigupada Dasa (Dr. Måns Broo) is joined by scholar and teacher Radhika Ramana Dasa (Dr. Ravi Gupta) for an in-depth exploration of Canto 1, Chapter 9 of the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Picking up the story immediately after the Mahābhārata war, we witness the Pandavas’ crushing grief, Bhīṣmadeva’s consolations, and the profound lessons he imparts as he lies on his bed of arrows—culminating in an exemplar “good death.”
At the heart of their discussion are Bhīṣmadeva’s stages of consolation: first sharing in the Pandavas’ sorrow, then reframing their suffering in terms of kāla (time) and ultimately Kṛṣṇa’s will, before guiding Yudhiṣṭhira toward the duties of rulership. We explore how the chapter distills hundreds of Mahābhārata verses into key teachings on dharma, detachment, and devotion, and we linger over Bhīṣmadeva’s beautiful Sanskrit prayers in praise of Kṛṣṇa’s various forms. Finally, we reflect on the sages who surround Bhīṣmadeva’s passing—not merely to pay respects but to learn by observation, offering a powerful reminder that in the Bhāgavatam “we learn how to die by watching someone die well.”
00:00 – Introduction
00:39 – Invocation & overview of the post-Kurukṣetra drama
01:31 – The Pandavas’ grief and Kṛṣṇa’s initial consolations
03:53 – Bhīṣmadeva on the bed of arrows: the “good death” paradigm
09:15 – Duty, remorse & the Mahābhārata as an argument against war
14:04 – Love, violence & divine rasa in battlefield memory
20:26 – Condensing the Mahābhārata: Bhāgavatam’s relational focus
25:14 – Śrīla Prabhupāda’s first-canto commentary & sage biographies
29:24 – Consolation in kāla vs. karma: relinquishing self-blame
41:50 – Bhīṣmadeva’s prayers: from Viṣṇu’s four-armed form to Vṛndāvana leelas
56:24 – The exemplary final teaching: attachments & detachment
01:08:13 – Sages as witnesses: “We learn how to die by watching someone die well”
01:12:00 – Closing reflections: life, death, and devotion