Narada Purana — Purva Bhaga, Shloka 3

The Description of the Index (Anukramaṇikā) of the Padma Purāṇa

Devanagari script

पुलस्त्येन तु भीष्माय सृष्ट्यादिक्रमतो द्विज । नानाख्यानेतिहासाद्यैर्यत्रोक्तो धर्मविस्तरः ॥ ३ ॥

Transliteration

pulastyena tu bhīṣmāya sṛṣṭyādikramato dvija | nānākhyānetihāsādyairyatrokto dharmavistaraḥ || 3 ||

Translation

然而，噢二次生者啊，此普拉那由普罗拉斯提耶（Pulastya）依次第自创世等起，传授于毗湿摩（Bhīṣma）；其中以种种传说、史事与诸般记述，广陈达摩之广大。

Word by Word

• pulastyena: by Pulastya
• pulastyena: Kartr̥ (कर्ता—agent in passive)
• Type: Noun
• Root: pulastya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, तृतीया विभक्तिः (3rd/Instrumental), एकवचनम्

• tu: indeed; and
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; अवधान/विरोधार्थक-निपात (particle: but/indeed)

• bhīṣmāya: to Bhīṣma
• bhīṣmāya: Sampradana (सम्प्रदान/recipient)
• Type: Noun
• Root: bhīṣma (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, चतुर्थी विभक्तिः (4th/Dative), एकवचनम्

• sṛṣṭi-ādi-kramataḥ: in due order beginning with creation
• sṛṣṭi-ādi-kramataḥ: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: sṛṣṭi (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक) + krama (प्रातिपदिक) + tas (अव्यय-प्रत्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; तसिल्-प्रत्ययान्त (ablatival adverb) ‘-तः’; समासः—सृष्ट्यादिक्रम (तत्पुरुषः) + तः

• dvija: O twice-born
• dvija: Sambodhana (सम्बोधन)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvija (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, सम्बोधनविभक्तिः, एकवचनम्

• nānā-ākhyāna-itihāsa-ādyaiḥ: by various narratives, histories, etc.
• nānā-ākhyāna-itihāsa-ādyaiḥ: Karana (करण/instrumental—means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: nānā (अव्यय/प्रातिपदिक) + ākhyāna (प्रातिपदिक) + itihāsa (प्रातिपदिक) + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्गे, तृतीया विभक्तिः, बहुवचनम्; समासः—नानाख्यानेतिहासादि (तत्पुरुषः; ‘various narratives, itihāsas, etc.’)

• yatra: wherein
• yatra: Adhikarana (अधिकरण—relative locative sense)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yatra (अव्यय)
• Form: अव्यय; सम्बन्धबोधक (relative adverb: where/in which)

• uktaḥ: is stated
• uktaḥ: Kriya (क्रिया—participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु)
• Form: क्त-प्रत्ययान्त कृदन्तः (Past passive participle); पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; ‘कथितः’

• dharma-vistaraḥ: the expanse/detail of dharma
• dharma-vistaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dharma (प्रातिपदिक) + vistara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्गे, प्रथमा विभक्तिः, एकवचनम्; समासः—धर्मविस्तर (तत्पुरुषः)

Speaker

Suta (narrator) addressing the assembled sages (dvijas)

Vrata Kalpa

Vrata: none

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: vira

Characters & Entities

• Pulastya
• Bhishma

FAQs

What is the spiritual significance of this verse in Narada Purana?

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.

How does this verse explain the path of devotion (Bhakti)?

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.

What practical Vedic knowledge (Vedanga) is highlighted here?

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.