Bhaktisutras of Narada

Maharsi Vedavyasa was staying in his hermitage at Badarikasrama. One day the celestical hermit Narada turned up there in the course of his usual wanton rambles.the great Vyasa welcomed him with due rities and on his taking seat asked: "Prophet of Gods! The soul of man seeks to get free from the hold of pleasure and pain and craves for deliverance from the bondage of the world. But the path of Action does not leaddirectly to the goal. Knowledge of course does nevertheless without the leaven of Devotion it can achievevery little in substances. Devotion is the only way of attaining salvation; all the others have importance only insofar as they are auxiliary to it. Therefore I humbly ask you to explain to me the doctrine of Devotion." The divine Naradaat once surveyed the mind of Vyasa and replied, "Great sage! You have come down on earth for the redemption of mankind. Your present enquiry has been prompted by that desire alone. By your disciple Jaimini, you have already in the Purvamimamsa discoursed upon the problem of Action, and you have yourself completed the enquiry into the prpblem of knowledgein the Uttaramimamsa. And now you have taken up the problem of Devotion. I am going to explain it. But its full explanation will be given by you in your Srimadbhagavatam which will be a nature of a commentary upon your Brahmasutras. My sutras will be read as such an explanation of your very short description of Devotion given in the Uttaramimamsa."

So saying Narada delivered a dissourse on Devotion in eighty-four aphorisms, the collection of which forms this short treatise, known as Narada Bhaktisutram( Bhaktisutras of Narada).