means 'follower or worshipper of Vishnu'. 'Bhagavan' (Sanskrit भगवन्) means 'Blessed One', 'God', or 'Lord'. Krishna - the transcendental, primeval Personality of Godhead, avatar of Vishnu - is directly referred to as 'Bhagavan' throughout this scripture. It is stated in canto 1, chapter 3, verse 28, "kṛṣṇas tu bhagavān svayam" which A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Prabhupada translates as, "Lord Śrī Kṛṣṇa is the original Personality of Godhead." 'Purana' (Sanskrit पुराण) means 'ancient' or 'old' (or 'old traditional history'). It also means 'complete' and 'completing' in the sense that a Purana 'completes the Vedas'. 'Maha' (Sanskrit महत्) means 'great', 'large', or 'vast'. 'Srimad' (or 'Srimat', Sanskrit श्रीमत्) means 'radiant', 'holy', 'splendid', or 'glorious', and is an honorific religious title. 'Sri' (or 'Shri' or 'Shree', Sanskrit श्री) means 'wealth'. Lakshmi - Goddess of Wealth and Vishnu/Krishna's wife - is also referred to as 'Sri'. 'Mad' (or 'Mat', Sanskrit मत्) means 'religion' or 'believed'. Those with a wealth ('Sri') of religion ('mad') may be honoured with the title of 'radiant', 'holy', 'splendid', or 'glorious' ('Srimad'). Content and structure The 18,000 verses of the Srimad Bhagavatam consist of several interconnected, interwoven, and non-linear dialogues, teachings, and explanations espousing Bhakti Yoga that go back and forth in time and across its twelve cantos: Stated authorship and purpose From the Ganesh Vasudeo Tagare / N.P. Jain for Motilal Banarsidass translation: From the Bibek Debroy translation: A unique and especial emphasis is placed on fostering transcendental loving devotion to Krishna as the ultimate good, i.e. for its own sake rather than for fruitive results or rewards such as detachment or worldly or heavenly gains, a practice known as Bhakti Yoga: Puranic characteristics As detailed in the Matsya Mahapurana, all Puranas must cover at least five specific subjects or topics - referred to in Sanskrit as Pancha Lakshana (literally meaning 'consisting of five characteristics' - in addition to other information including specific deities and the four aims or goals of life. From the K.L. Joshi (editor) translation: A sattvic Vaishnava Mahapurana (‘great purana’), the Srimad Bhagavatam adds another five characteristics, expanding this list to ten. From the J.M. Sanyal translation: The Bhagavata further elaborates on the differences between lesser and greater Puranas possessing five or ten characteristics, respectively. From the Disciples of Swami Prabhupada / BBT translation: Shlokas / verses Although the number of original Sanskrit shlokas is stated to be 18,000 by the Bhagavata itself - and by