So there are three kinds of processes to receive knowledge: pratyakṣa, aitihya and śabda. Pratyakṣa means by direct perception, experimental knowledge. And aitihya, or anumāna. Anumāna, hypothesis, "It may be like this," "Perhaps like this." Just like modern scientists say, "Perhaps it is like this." That is called anumāna, hypothesis. And another process is śabda-pramāṇa. Śruti-pramāṇa. Śabda means sound vibration, and śruti means aural reception. So out of three processes, the śabda-pramāṇa, or receiving vibration, sound vibration from authorities by aural reception, that is considered to be the perfect.
So Nārada Muni says... Before this, Nārada Muni has advised Vyāsadeva that "In order to release all these conditioned souls, you just describe the wonderful activities of the Supreme Personality of Godhead." Simply by hearing... Uttama-ślokasya guṇānuvādāt. Uttama-śloka. Uttama-śloka means the Supreme Lord who is described by transcendental literature or very fine, scholarly language. He's called Uttama-śloka. Uttama-ślokasya urukramasya. "That will save all conditioned souls from being implicated in the clutches of māyā." Now, Vyāsadeva has already described... He has made many purāṇas, eighteen purāṇas. So there is mention of God's activities. Just like in Mahābhārata he has put this Bhagavad-gītā. So Nārada Muni says that pṛthag dṛśas tat-kṛta-rūpa-nāmabhiḥ, tato 'nyathā kiñcana yad vivakṣataḥ: "If you do not exceptionally, exclusively describe simply the pastimes of the uncommon activities of the Lord, the other way, as you have given as a sidelight, as you have described Bhagavad-gītā, the activities of Kṛṣṇa as a sideline, not..." Actually, the whole Mahābhārata is full of activities of Kṛṣṇa, but Kṛṣṇa is only a scene in the Mahābhārata. He's speaking in the Battlefield of Kurukṣetra. So Nārada Muni says, "That sort of description will not be very much congenial, because the people are not steady. Their anxiety... Their mind is disturbed in so many ways exactly like a boat moving in the tossing of the waves of the sea. So this sort of understanding of God will not give them much benefit. You describe completely on the pastimes, on the activities of the Supreme Lord. That will give people release from these material clutches."