om namo bhagavate vasudevaya
om-O my Lord; namah-my respectful obeisances unto You; bhagavate-unto the Personality of Godhead; vasudevaya-unto Lord Krsna, the son of Vasudeva.
O my Lord, the all-pervading Personality of Godhead, I offer my respectful obeisances unto You.
Vasudevaya means to Krsna, the son of Vasudeva. As by chanting the name of Krsna, Vasudeva, one can achieve all the good results of charity, austerity and penances, so by the chanting of this mantra, om namo bhagavate vasudevaya, it is to be understood that the author or the speaker, or anyone of the readers of Srimad-Bhagavatam, is offering respectful obeisances unto the Supreme Lord Krsna, the reservoir of all pleasure. In the First Canto of Srimad-Bhagavatam, the principles of creation are described, and as such, the First Canto can be called "Creation."
Similarly, in the Second Canto, the post-creation cosmic manifestation is described. The different planetary systems are described in the Second Canto as different parts of the universal body of the Lord. For this reason, the Second Canto can be called "The Cosmic Manifestation." There are ten chapters in the Second Canto, and in these ten chapters the purpose of Srimad-Bhagavatam and the different symptoms of this purpose are narrated. In the First Chapter, the glories of chanting are described, and the process of meditation on the universal form of the Lord by the neophyte devotees is hinted. In the first verse, Sukadeva Gosvami replies to the questions of Maharaja Pariksit, who asked him about one's duties at the point of his death. Maharaja Pariksit was glad to receive Sukadeva Gosvami, and he was proud of being a descendant of Arjuna, the intimate friend of Krsna. Personally, he was very humble and meek, but he expressed his gladness that Lord Krsna was very kind to the sons of Pandu, or his grandfathers, especially his own grandfather, Arjuna. And because Lord Krsna is always pleased with his family, therefore, at the verge of Maharaja Pariksit's death, Sukadeva Gosvami was sent to help him in the process of self-realization. Maharaja Pariksit was a devotee of Lord Krsna from his childhood, so he had natural affection for Krsna, and Sukadeva Gosvami could understand his devotion to Lord Krsna. Therefore, he welcomed the questions about his duty. Because the King hinted that worship of Lord Krsna is the ultimate function of every living entity, Sukadeva Gosvami welcomed the suggestion and said, "Because you have raised questions about Krsna, your question is most glorious." The translation of the first verse is as follows.