THE STORY BEHIND COMPOSING BHAGAVATA Quiet flowed the holy Saraswati. Atmosphere all-round was serene. On the bank of the river sat the sage who was well-known for his immortal work of composing the Mahabharata for everybody & dividing the Ve- das for spreading their konwledge to all. This sage was none other than Vedavyasa. Even though Vyasa ever remained whole-heartedly engaged in doing good work to living humanity, his heart was not satisfied with it. Feeling uneasy at heart, the sage who know the secret of Dharma (righteousness) set in a secluded spot on the holy of the Saraswati, & said to himself: “Though I stand foremost among those who are per-eminent in sacred knowledge & possess uncommon power too, my soul, it seems has not yet realized the true nature of wisdom (oneness with Brahma). It is because I have not yet fully expounded the virtues that enable one to attain the Lord? It is these virtues that are loved by divinely-adorned saints & they alone are dear to Lord Visnu Himself.” While the sage Krsnadwaipayana (Vyasa) was thus depressed with the consciousness that he was still short of something, the celestial sage Narada called at his hermitage. Sage Vedavyasa rose from his seat to receive the venerable guest. Celestial sage was offered worship as part of reception to the venera- ble persons. The mental discontent of sage Vedavyasa could not be concealed from the eyes of the celestial sage Narada. He wanted to know from him about the cause of his melancholy. The celestial sage Narada replied: “O Vedavyasa! You have not yet sung the stainless glory & magnanimity of the Lord. I consider that wisdom is deficient if you don’t please the Lord. O chief of sages! You have not yet fully described the glory of Lord Vasudeva as you have dealt with the objects of human pursuit such as Dha-rma. In my view the scripture or knowledge does not please the almighty Sri Hari; the same is thus, incomp-lete & futile.