अत्राप्युदाहरन्तीमम् इतिहासं पुरातनम् ।
यमस्य प्रेतबन्धूनां संवादं तं निबोधत ॥ २७ ॥
atra-in this connection; api-indeed; udaharanti-they cite; imam-this; itihasam-history; puratanam-very old; yamasya-of Yamaraja, the superintendent of death, who gives judgment after death; preta-bandhunam-of the friends of a dead man; samvadam-discussion; tam-that; nibodhata-try to understand.
In this regard, an example is given from an old history. This involves a discourse between Yamaraja and the friends of a dead person. Please hear it attentively.
The words itihasam puratanam mean "an old history." The Puranas are not chronologically recorded, but the incidents mentioned in the Puranas are actual histories of bygone ages. Srimad-Bhagavatam is the Maha-purana, the essence of all the Puranas. The Mayavadi scholars do not accept the Puranas, but Srila Madhvacarya and all other authorities accept them as the authoritative histories of the world.