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 ||
Phạm Thiên nói: Hãy lắng nghe, hỡi con yêu dấu; ta sẽ tuyên thuyết Purāṇa cổ xưa mang danh Brahmāṇḍa, gồm mười hai nghìn kệ, lại được trang nghiêm bằng những chuyện kể về sơ kiếp (kalpa nguyên thủy, đại kiếp đầu của vũ trụ).
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).