Book I — Section I

Om![1] Salutation unto Vāsudeva![2] O Pundarikāsha,[3] victory unto thee! I bow unto thee, O origin of the universe! O Hrishikesha,[4] O great Purusha, O thou the first born! That Vishnu,[5] who is eternal, indecayable one, who is Brahmā, the Isvara and the Purusha,—who causeth the creation, the sustentation and the dissolution (of the world) consequent on the qualities[6] being agitated,—and from whom hath sprung the cosmos with Pradhāna,[7] Buddhi, etc.;—may he confer on us excellent understanding wealth[8] and emancipation! Bowing down unto Vishnu, lord of the universe, and saluting Brahmā and the rest, and paying reverence unto my preceptor, I will rehearse the Purāna that is equal to the Vedas. Saluting and paying homage unto that best of ascetics, Parāçara—son unto Vasistha's son—versed in annals and the Purānas,[9] accomplished in the Vedas and the branches thereof, and learned in the mysteries of the scriptures,—who had finished his first daily devotions.—Maitreya asked him, saying,—"O preceptor, I have one by one studied near thee all the scriptures as well as the Vedas and their branches. It is owing to thy grace that, O foremost of ascetics, almost all of those that are even our enemies, confess that I have studied all the branches of knowledge. O thou cognisant of righteousness, I am desirous of hearing from thee how this universe came into being, and how, O virtuous one, it shall be in the future; in what, O Brāhmana, the cosmos consists; wherefrom sprang this system of mobile and immobile objects; where it lay at first and where it shall dissolve itself; as to the objects that have manifested themselves; the genesis of the gods; the establishment of seas and mountains and the earth, and that of the sun, etc. and the dimensions thereof; the genealogies of the deities,—all about the Manus, and the Manwantaras,[10] and Kalpas[11] and Vikalpas of Kalpas composed of the fourfold division into Yugas; the character of the close of Kalpas; and the entire tendencies of the Yugas; and, O mighty ascetic, the history of Devarshis[12] and monarchs; the proper division by Vyāsa of the Vedas into different parts; and the morality concerning Brāhmanas and others, as well as that of householders. O son of Vasishtha, I wish to hear all this related by thee. O Brahmana, incline thy mind favourably unto me, so that, O mighty anchoret, I may know all this through thy grace".

Pāraçara said,—"Excellent well; O Maitreya, O thou that art conversant with righteousness. Thou bringest into my recollection what of old my grandsire, the reverend Vasishtha, had said of old. When I heard that my sire had been devoured by the Rākshasa sent by Vicwāmitra, I was wrought up with an exceeding rage. Then I set about disturbing the sacrifice of the Rakshas; and in that sacrifice reduced to ashes night-rangers by hundreds. On the Rakshas undergoing extermination, the eminently pious Vasishtha, my grandfather, said unto me,—'Do not indulge in excessive wrath, O child, control this passion of thine. Albeit the Rākshasas did thus unto thy sire, yet have they not transgressed. This ire springeth up in fools; but where is the anger of the wise? Who, my child, destroyeth whom? Persons[13] but reap their acts. O child, anger heweth away the great and immense asceticism and fame acquired with extreme toil by men. The prime saints ever banish anger, which retardeth heaven and emancipation. Therefore, my child, do not thou come under its sway. No need of burning the night-rangers, who have not wronged. Stop this sacrifice of thine. Pious people are composed of forgiveness.' Thus exhorted by my high-souled grandsire, I, for the sake of the dignity of his speech, stopped the sacrifice. Thereat, that foremost of ascetics, the reverend Vasishtha was gratified. And it came to pass that there appeared then Pulastya, son unto Brahmā. And when my grandfather had offered him arghya,[14] when he had taken his seat, O Maitreya, the exceedingly righteous elder brother of Pulaha addressed me, saying,—'As, albeit a mighty enmity existeth (between thyself and the Rākshasas), thou hast resorted to forgiveness at the words of thy superior, thou shall master all the branches of knowledge. And as, although highly enraged, thou hast not cut off my sons, I, O pious one, shall confer on thee a mighty boon. Thou shalt be the author of the Purāna and Samhita,[15] and thou shalt attain a consummate knowledge of the celestials. And through my grace, O child, thy intelligence shall be clear and unobstructed as concerns the Present and the Past.' Then my grandsire, the reverend Vasishtha, said,—'What Pulastya hath uttered to thee, must be so.' At thy question I remember me in full of all that formerly had been said unto me by Vasishtha and the intelligent Pulastya. And, O Maitreya, as thou hast asked me, I shall at length relate unto thee adequately the Purāna Samhitā.—Do thou understand that properly. This universe hath sprung from Vishnu,—and in Him it is established. He is the cause of the creation, maintenance and destruction thereof, and He is the universe".