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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
1.15 The Pandavas Retire Timely with Radhika Ramana Dasa
In this episode of the Bhagavata Podcast, Bhrigupada Dasa (Dr Måns Broo) welcomes back Radhika Ramana Dasa (Dr Ravi Gupta) to explore Canto 1, Chapter 15: The Pandavas Retire Timely. Beginning with Arjuna’s confirmation of Krishna’s departure, the conversation traces grief, remembrance, and vipralambha, love intensified through separation. Through close reading and lived reflection, the episode explores how loss dismantles worldly identity and reveals Arjuna’s deeper identity as Krishna’s friend.
The dialogue moves through luminous Sanskrit verses, the withdrawal of divine power, Draupadi’s agency, and the Bhagavata’s post-Mahabharata clearing of the stage. The chapter closes by returning to the Bhagavad Gita within the Bhagavata and the phala shruti promise: devotion to Hari as the true perfection.
Chapters
00:05 Welcome
03:20 Krishna Departs
08:10 Naming Krishna
14:00 Love in Separation
19:40 Power Withdrawn
24:30 Humbling Loss
31:45 True Identity
38:20 World Without Krishna
45:00 When to Renounce
56:30 Devotion as the Goal