Bhagavata Purana

Sectarian religious text that is by far the
most important text for the worship of
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Bhagavan
the god Krishna as the single Supreme
Being. Internal evidence hints that it was
written in southern India in the ninth or
tenth century, making it much later than
many of the other puranas. The bulk of
the text focuses on Krishna’s early life in
the village of Brindavan—infancy, childhood, and adolescence—but gives little
attention to his later exploits as a king
and hero. This purana’s best-known section is the tenth book, which describes
Krishna’s amorous exploits with the local
herd girls (gopis) as they pass the nights
in a circle dance (ras lila) on the shores of
the Yamuna River. The image of Krishna
throughout the text is that of a god in
constant play with the world. For
Krishna’s devotees (bhakta), the supreme
felicity comes with the opportunity to
take part in that divine play (lila).