SB 1.3.42
sa tu samsravayam asa
maharajam pariksitam
prayopavistam gangayam
paritam paramarsibhih
Translation by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
Sukadeva Gosvami, the son of Vyasadeva, in his turn delivered the Bhagavatam to the great Emperor Pariksit, who sat surrounded by sages on the bank of the Ganges, awaiting death without taking food or drink.
Purport by His Divine Grace A. C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada:
All transcendental messages are received properly in the chain of disciplic succession. This disciplic succession is called parampara. Unless therefore Bhagavatam or any other Vedic literatures are received through the parampara system, the reception of knowledge is not bona fide. Vyasadeva delivered the message to Sukadeva Gosvami, and from Sukadeva Gosvami, Suta Gosvami received the message. One should therefore receive the message of Bhagavatam from Suta Gosvami or from his representative and not from any irrelevant interpreter.
Emperor Pariksit received the information of his death in time, and he at once left his kingdom and family and sat down on the bank of the Ganges to fast till death. All great sages, rsis, philosophers, mystics, etc., went there due to his imperial position. They offered many suggestions about his immediate duty, and at last it was settled that he would hear from Sukadeva Gosvami about Lord Krsna. Thus the Bhagavatam was spoken to him.
Sripada Sankaracarya, who preached Mayavada philosophy and stressed the impersonal feature of the Absolute, also recommended that one must take shelter at the lotus feet of Lord Sri Krsna, for there is no hope of gain from debating. Indirectly Sripada Sankaracarya admitted that what he had preached in the flowery grammatical interpretations of the Vedanta-sutra cannot help one at the time of death. At the critical hour of death one must recite the name of Govinda. This is the recommendation of all great transcendentalists. Sukadeva Gosvami had long ago stated the same truth, that at the end one must remember Narayana. That is the essence of all spiritual activities. In pursuance of this eternal truth, Srimad-Bhagavatam was heard by Emperor Pariksit, and it was recited by the able Sukadeva Gosvami. And both the speaker and the receiver of the messages of Bhagavatam were duly delivered by the same medium.