Most of the Bhagavata Purana consists of Shuka reciting the story to the king Parikshit in his final days.

Shuka is depicted as a sannyasi, renouncing the world in pursuit of moksha (liberation), which most narratives assert that he achieved.

[4] According to the Hindu epic Mahabharata, after one hundred years of austerity by Vyasa, Shuka was churned out of a stick of fire, born with ascetic power and with the Vedas dwelling inside him, just like his father.

[5][6][7] Other texts including the Devi Bhagavata Purana also narrate the birth of Shuka but with drastic differences.

Vyasa was desiring an heir, when an apsara (celestial damsel) named Ghritachi flew in front of him in form of a beautiful parrot.

The tiny parrot flies into a nearby forest and enters into the womb of Vyasa’s wife through her mouth when she was yawning.

The Mahabharata also recounts how Shuka was sent by Vyasa for training to King Janaka, who was considered to be a Jivanmukta or one who is liberated while still in a body.

[12] Shuka told a brief version of the Bhagavata Purana to the Kuru king Parikshit, who was destined to die after seven days due to a curse.