Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 1
The Description of the Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa’s Table of Contents
Anukramaṇī
ब्रह्मोवाच । श्रृणु वत्स प्रवक्ष्यामि ब्रह्मांडाख्यं पुरातनम् । यच्च द्वादशसाहस्रमादिकल्पकथायुतम् ॥ १ ॥
brahmovāca | śrṛṇu vatsa pravakṣyāmi brahmāṃḍākhyaṃ purātanam | yacca dvādaśasāhasramādikalpakathāyutam || 1 ||
Brahmā sprach: Höre, geliebtes Kind; ich will das uralte Purāṇa verkünden, das Brahmāṇḍa genannt wird, aus zwölftausend Versen bestehend und geschmückt mit Berichten vom ursprünglichen Kalpa, dem ersten kosmischen Äon.
Brahmā
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
FAQs
It frames Purāṇic knowledge as a sacred transmission: Brahmā introduces an ancient cosmological text (Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa), emphasizing that understanding creation across kalpas supports right view of dharma and the divine order.
While not explicitly teaching bhakti, it establishes the authority of Purāṇic narration—one of the primary vehicles through which devotion to the Supreme (often Vishnu in Purāṇas) is cultivated via hearing (śravaṇa).
The verse points to purāṇic anukramaṇikā-style cataloging—textual structure by verse-count and kalpa-topic—supporting traditional disciplines of organizing and transmitting sacred literature (a practical aspect akin to śāstra-pāṭha and textual taxonomy).