Srimad Bhagawata is based on the avatara tattva of Sri Hari.

The theme of Srimad Bhagavata is avataras of the Lord.

What is an avatara?

Avatara means- to descend.

Descend from his abode, Vaikuntha.

Vaikuntha is on top of all the worlds, above all the worlds.

From there he descends.

With a certain purpose, in a certain world, at a certain point in time.

This is called avatara.

Avatara is not restricted to earth.

He took Hamsavatara in Satyaloka, Brahma’s Satyaloka.

He took Varahavatara in Maharloka, not on earth.

Sri Hari takes avataras in the bodies of devatas, humans, animals, plants.

They are all his, they are all under his control.

He can do whatever he wants.

He does whatever is appropriate.

But why is he taking avataras?

Isn’t he running the world even otherwise?

There is playtime in the school.

Children play from 4 to 5.

Every day.

It is the Principal who has put this system in place.

It works.

Without his monitoring, it works.

But one day, he hears shouts and noises.

He goes out to the playground and sees that children are fighting.

This is not the purpose of playtime.

He scolds them, sets everything right again, and comes back to the office.

This is what Bhagavan also does, in an avatara.

When the system that he has put in place called dharma, when that is violated, he interferes.

This is why he takes avataras.

अजोऽपिसन्नव्ययात्मा भूतानामीश्वरोऽपिसन्।
प्रकृतिं स्वामधिष्ठाय संभवाम्यात्ममायया।
यदा यदा हि धर्मस्य ग्लानिर्भवति भारत।
अभ्युत्थानमधर्मस्य तदाऽऽत्मानं सृजाम्यहम्।

At least this is what we think.

And this is what he also tells us.

In a way that we can understand, our mind can understand.

A child may ask his father: why do you go to office every day?

He would say, so that I get a salary and can buy you whatever you want.

Can he tell the child I have career ambitions, this is my growth trajectory,
I am doing service to the motherland?

He tells the child as the child would understand, at his maturity level.

So Bhagavan also tells: dharma samsthapanarthaya, in simple terms.

This is our perspective.

A calf thinks that the mother is giving milk for me.

She is producing milk for me.

For us, the calf is just a means to make the cow secrete milk.

We think it is for us.

It is meant for us.

So we don’t know for sure why Bhagavan takes avataras.

Or whether there are multiple purposes, we don’t know for sure.

But let’s go ahead with the way we can understand this.
Bhagavata is primarily about Bhagavan’s avataras, narrated in bhakti-bhava, with importance given to sattva guna.

Why sattva guna, all three are his own gunas.
Why give importance to sattva guna?

After pralaya, assuming rajoguna, he only becomes Brahma and creates the world again.

Once the world is created, he only assumes sattva guna, becomes Vishnu and manages the world.

He only becomes antaryami, controller from inside of the rulers, administrators, managers who run the world.

At the end of the duration of the world, he only assumes tamoguna, becomes Rudra, and eliminates the world.

Then why give importance and prominence to sattva guna?

Because we are here with a purpose.

We are not news reporters.

We have an agenda, to reach him, to become one with him.

For this, our rishis are acharyas have told us that we have to take his side.

The side of sattva guna.

This is what they have told us.

They have told us that if we align with sattva guna, we can attain him easily.

It is not that you can't reach him through the other gunas also.

But sattva guna is much easier and must be faster.

This is what they have told.

Whatever they have told, they have all worked, so far.

So, this would also work.

So in Bhagavata, we will listen to the legends of the Lord’s avataras, a few of them, with emphasis on sattva guna of the Lord, and from an angle of bhakti, devotion.