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 ||
ഹേ ദ്വിജാ, സൃഷ്ടിയാദി ക്രമപ്രകാരം പുലസ്ത്യൻ ഭീഷ്മനോട് ഇതു ഉപദേശിച്ചു; ഇതിൽ നാനാ ആഖ്യാനങ്ങൾ, ഇതിഹാസങ്ങൾ മുതലായവ വഴി ധർമ്മത്തിന്റെ വിപുലവിവരണം പ്രസ്താവിച്ചിരിക്കുന്നു ॥ ൩ ॥
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.