In the text: 1.1-2; 12.8-13

Shaunaka

शौनक

Head of the sages at Naimisharanya whose six questions in the first chapter open the entire Srimad Bhagavatam.

Appears in

The sages' six questions at Naimisharanya — Skandha 1, adhyaya 1 — Gathered for a thousand-year sacrifice against the Kali age, Shaunaka and the sages ask Suta for the single good that serves all.
Suta on the highest dharma — Skandha 1, adhyaya 2 — Before telling a single story, Suta bows to Shuka and answers the first question: the highest dharma is devotion without motive.
Markandeya's vision of the child on the banyan leaf and the last verse — Skandha 12, adhyayas 8-13 — Suta closes with Markandeya swept into the cosmic flood, beholding the infant on the banyan leaf, and the final hymn to the Name.

Devotion as the highest dharma — The Bhagavatam's own thesis (1.2.6): the highest dharma is devotion with no motive, which nothing can interrupt.
Who is a teacher — A son teaches his mother, a madman teaches a king, and an ascetic learns from a pigeon, a python and a courtesan.

Why did Shaunaka and the sages gather in the forest of Naimisharanya for a thousand years?
Why do Shaunaka's six questions begin with "the highest good for all people" before asking about avatars?
Why does Shaunaka ask specifically about Markandeya in the twelfth book?