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 ||
Doch, o Zweimalgeborener, dieses Purāṇa wurde von Pulastya Bhīṣma in der rechten Abfolge gelehrt, beginnend mit der Schöpfung; und darin wird die Weite des Dharma durch viele Erzählungen, Überlieferungen und geschichtliche Berichte entfaltet.
Suta (narrator) addressing the assembled sages (dvijas)
Vrata: none
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
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.