Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 3
The Description of the Index (Anukramaṇikā) of the Padma Purāṇa
पुलस्त्येन तु भीष्माय सृष्ट्यादिक्रमतो द्विज । नानाख्यानेतिहासाद्यैर्यत्रोक्तो धर्मविस्तरः ॥ ३ ॥
pulastyena tu bhīṣmāya sṛṣṭyādikramato dvija | nānākhyānetihāsādyairyatrokto dharmavistaraḥ || 3 ||
ولكن، أيها المولودُ مرتين، فقد علّم بولاستيا هذا البورانا لبهِيشما على الترتيب اللائق مبتدئًا من شأن الخلق؛ وفيه تُبسط سَعةُ الدارما عبر حكايات شتّى وتواريخ ورواياتٍ متصلة.
Suta (narrator) addressing the assembled sages (dvijas)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
FAQs
It frames the text as a structured dharma-teaching tradition: beginning from cosmic creation and unfolding Dharma through instructive narratives and Itihāsa-style accounts, emphasizing that right living is learned through both doctrine and story.
While Bhakti is not named explicitly here, the verse signals the Purāṇic method: devotion and dharma are cultivated through sacred narratives and exemplars—stories that later support Vishnu-bhakti and righteous conduct within the broader Purāṇa.
The verse does not teach a specific Vedāṅga directly; it highlights the pedagogical framework—systematic sequencing (krama) and narrative exposition—by which Purāṇas contextualize Vedic principles for practice.