Padma Purana — Patala Khanda, Shloka 10
Instruction to the Brahmin
The Greatness of Piṇḍa and Prasāda on Mount Nīla
तदा मद्वाक्यमाकर्ण्य कथितं तैर्महात्मभिः । सर्वं तत्र तु यद्वृत्तं चतुर्भुजभवादिकम्
tadā madvākyamākarṇya kathitaṃ tairmahātmabhiḥ | sarvaṃ tatra tu yadvṛttaṃ caturbhujabhavādikam
随后，那些大心之人听了我的话，便将一切都叙述出来——确实，把那里发生的全部经过，从四臂之主起首以及其后的诸事。
Unspecified narrator (contextual first-person speaker within the dialogue frame)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Type: netherworld
Sandhi Resolution Notes: madvākyamākarṇya → मत् + वाक्यम् + आकर्ण्य; tairmahātmabhiḥ → तैः + महात्मभिः; yadvṛttaṃ → यत् + वृत्तम्; caturbhujabhavādikam → चतुर्भुज + भव + आदिकम्.
FAQs
In Purāṇic usage, “caturbhuja” commonly denotes Viṣṇu, depicted with four arms holding his emblems; here it signals that the narration begins with an episode involving that four-armed Lord.
It serves as a transition: after the speaker’s statement, the “great-souled ones” recount the full sequence of events that happened there, starting from the appearance or action of the four-armed Lord.
Calling them “mahātmā” frames the account as trustworthy and spiritually weighty, implying that sacred history is preserved and transmitted by virtuous, elevated persons.