yÄni veda-vidÄá¹ Å›reá¹£á¹ho
bhagavÄn bÄdarÄyaṇaḥ
anye ca munayaḥ sūta
parÄvara-vido viduḥ
yÄni - all that; veda-vidÄm - scholars of the Vedas; Å›reá¹£á¹haḥ - seniormost; bhagavÄn - incarnation of Godhead; bÄdarÄyaṇaḥ - VyÄsadeva; anye - others; ca - and; munayaḥ - the sages; sÅ«ta - O SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ«; parÄvara-vidaḥ - amongst the learned scholars, one who is conversant with physical and metaphysical knowledge; viduḥ - one who knows.
Being the eldest learned VedÄntist, O SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ«, you are acquainted with the knowledge of VyÄsadeva, who is the incarnation of Godhead, and you also know other sages who are fully versed in all kinds of physical and metaphysical knowledge.
ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam is a natural commentation on the Brahma-sÅ«tra, or the BÄdarÄyaṇi VedÄnta-sÅ«tras. It is called natural because VyÄsadeva is author of both the VedÄnta-sÅ«tras and ÅšrÄ«mad-BhÄgavatam, or the essence of all Vedic literatures. Besides VyÄsadeva, there are other sages who are the authors of six different philosophical systems, namely Gautama, KaṇÄda, Kapila, Patañjali, Jaimini and Aá¹£á¹Ävakra. Theism is explained completely in the VedÄnta-sÅ«tra, whereas in other systems of philosophical speculations, practically no mention is given to the ultimate cause of all causes. One can sit on the vyÄsÄsana only after being conversant in all systems of philosophy so that one can present fully the theistic views of the BhÄgavatam in defiance of all other systems. ÅšrÄ«la SÅ«ta GosvÄmÄ« was the proper teacher, and therefore the sages at Naimiá¹£Äraṇya elevated him to the vyÄsÄsana. ÅšrÄ«la VyÄsadeva is designated herein as the Personality of Godhead because he is the authorized empowered incarnation.
