Of the innumerable collections of spiritual teachings found in Vedic literature, Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is considered the topmost. Vedic literature is sometimes said to be a “desire tree,” a tree that can yield whatever one might desire, and of that tree the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is said to be the ripe and most relishable fruit.
 
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam, an epic classic of philosophy and literature, holds a prominent position in India’s voluminous written wisdom. The timeless wisdom of India is expressed in the Vedas, ancient Sanskrit texts. Originally preserved through oral tradition, the Vedas were first put into writing by the sage Srila Vyasadeva.

After compiling the Vedas however, Vyasadeva told his spiritual teacher that he felt strangely empty despite completing such a monumental task. His preceptor replied that he needed to explore more pure and spiritual topics, especially knowledge of Krishna. Inspired, Vyasadeva compiled only the most profound essence of the Vedas to create the Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is the most complete and authoritative exposition of Vedic knowledge, covering everything from the nature of the self to the origin of the universe.
The first verse of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam makes clear that because the book is intended for people serious about spiritual progress, it will not deal with sectarian religious ideas, philosophical conjecture, or worldly concerns. The second text promises that anyone who reads the book systematically will achieve the spiritual success meant for all human beings.

Only qualification required
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam begins with the definition of the ultimate source. It is a bona fide commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra by the same author, Srila Vyāsadeva, and gradually it develops into nine cantos up to the highest state of God-realization. The only qualification one needs to study this great book of transcendental knowledge is to proceed step by step cautiously and not jump forward haphazardly like with an ordinary book. It should be gone through chapter by chapter, one after another. The reading matter is so arranged that one is sure to become a God-realized soul at the end of finishing the first nine cantos. The Tenth Canto is distinct from the first nine cantos because it deals directly with the transcendental activities of the Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna. One will be unable to capture the effects of the Tenth Canto without going through the first nine cantos. The book is completed in twelve cantos, each independent, but it is good for all to read them in small installments one after another.

Is Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the nineteenth Purāṇa? 

Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam is one of the eighteen Purāṇas, but Srila Vyasdeva wrote it after compiling the essence of the Vedas in the Vedānta-sūtra and also composing the Mahābhārata and Purāṇas. But, one might ask, if the eighteen Purāṇas had already been compiled, does this make Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam the nineteenth Purāṇa?

Srila  Jiva Goswami explains in Tattva Sandharbha that this is not the case. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam appeared first to Srila Vyasa in a concise and subtle form, as one of the eighteen Purāṇas. Srila Vyasa composed the Vedāntasūtra on the basis of this first edition of the Bhāgavatam. Later, when He sat in trance in pursuance of Nārada Muni’s order, the expanded form of Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam was revealed to Him as the natural commentary on the Vedānta-sūtra. Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam and the Vedāntasūtra share the same subject, the Absolute Truth, and they describe the same principles of sambandha (the relationship between the soul and God), abhidheya (the process of attaining the supreme goal), and prayojana (the supreme goal, perfect devotion to the Lord). Many ācāryas and scholars wrote later commentaries on the Vedānta-sūtra, but only those that agree with ŚrīmadBhāgavatam—such as those given by Ramanujacarya, Madhvacarya, and Baladeva Vidyabhusana—are bona fide. Suta Goswami alludes to Veda-