the solar fire: ye who have concluded the silent meditations and have fed
the holy fire; and yet who are sitting--without care, what, O ye Dwijas
(twice-born), shall I repeat, shall I recount the sacred stories collected
in the Puranas containing precepts of religious duty and of worldly profit,
or the acts of illustrious saints and sovereigns of mankind?"

"The Rishi replied, 'The Purana, first promulgated by the great Rishi
Dwaipayana, and which after having been heard both by the gods and the
Brahmarshis was highly esteemed, being the most eminent narrative that
exists, diversified both in diction and division, possessing subtile
meanings logically combined, and gleaned from the Vedas, is a sacred work.
Composed in elegant language, it includeth the subjects of other books. It
is elucidated by other Shastras, and comprehendeth the sense of the four
Vedas. We are desirous of hearing that history also called Bharata, the
holy composition of the wonderful Vyasa, which dispelleth the fear of evil,
just as it was cheerfully recited by the Rishi Vaisampayana, under the
direction of Dwaipayana himself, at the snake-sacrifice of Raja
Janamejaya?'

"Sauti then said, 'Having bowed down to the primordial being Isana, to
whom multitudes make offerings, and who is adored by the multitude; who is
the true incorruptible one, Brahma, perceptible, imperceptible, eternal;
who is both a non-existing and an existing-non-existing being; who is the
universe and also distinct from the existing and non-existing universe;
who is the creator of high and low; the ancient, exalted, inexhaustible
one; who is Vishnu, beneficent and the beneficence itself, worthy of all
preference, pure and immaculate; who is Hari, the ruler of the faculties,
the guide of all things moveable and immoveable; I will declare the sacred
thoughts of the illustrious sage Vyasa, of marvellous deeds and worshipped
here by all. Some bards have already published this history, some are now