The interpretive difficulty arises in Chapter Five of the Bhāgavata Māhātmya, verse 48:
दिनान्ते रक्षिता गाथा तदा चित्रं बभूव ह ।
वंशैकग्रन्थिभेदोऽभूत् सशब्दं पश्यतां सताम् ॥४८॥
Here, the usual meaning of रक्ष्, “to protect,” does not adequately convey the narrative sense. The expression “रक्षिता गाथा” is best understood contextually as “the narration was paused for the day,” with its continuation reserved for the following day.
The verse may therefore be translated:
“When, at the close of the day, the narration was paused, a remarkable event occurred: one joint of the bamboo burst open with a sound before the assembled onlookers.”