Shuka's first answer to a man with seven days: fix the mind on the Lord, and here is the shape of everything He holds.
What happens in this skandha
Shuka tells Parikshit how a dying man should spend his last days, and teaches meditation on the cosmic form of the Lord. He describes creation as Brahma received it, and the four verses in which the Lord revealed the whole Bhagavatam to Brahma in seed form. The book closes by naming the ten subjects a Purana must cover.
Episodes in this skandha
The four verses given to Brahma — Skandha 2, adhyaya 9 — Brahma, seated on a lotus with no idea how to create, hears 'tapa' twice, does penance, and is given the whole book in four verses.
Continue through the Bhagavatam
Prathama Skandha — Skandha 1 — Why the Bhagavatam was told at all: a restless Vyasa, a dying king, and a boy-sage who arrives just in time.
Tritiya Skandha — Skandha 3 — Vidura's pilgrimage, the boar who lifts the earth, two gatekeepers cursed into demons, and a son who teaches his mother.
