Having completed his earthly journey, the righteous king relinquished his mortal body and, united with dharma, ascended to heaven. Yet, in that celestial realm, he also witnessed the great and intense torments that souls endure. By the grace of a divine messenger, hell itself was revealed to him, and the noble-hearted king heard the pitiful cries of his brothers echoing through those realms. In that place where souls remained under command, dwelling as fate decreed, the Pandava was shown the truth by the personification of righteousness and by the king of the gods himself. After bathing in the celestial waters of the Ganga, having shed his human form, the king of righteousness attained the heavenly abode earned by his own steadfast duty. Honored by all, rejoicing among Indra and the hosts of gods, he found joy. Thus, the wise sage Vyasa declares this as the eighteenth book. Within this book, five chapters are counted by the great-souled ascetic, and two hundred verses carefully enumerated. The supreme seer also counts nine additional verses, and so, the eighteen books of the Mahabharata are all tallied without remainder. In the appendices, the Harivamsha and future events are described, comprising ten thousand and twenty hundred verses. The numbers of verses in the appendices and Harivamsha are counted by the great seer, and thus the summary of the books in the Bharata is recounted. Eighteen armies gathered, eager for battle, and the great and terrible war endured for eighteen days. A twice-born who knows the four Vedas with their limbs and Upanishads, yet does not know this narrative, is not truly wise. Vyasa, of boundless intellect, has declared this as a treatise on wealth, a great treatise on righteousness, and a treatise on desire. Having heard this narrative, nothing else pleasing to the ear delights; just as, after hearing the song of a man-cuckoo, the harsh caw of a crow is not pleasing. From this supreme history arise the insights of poets, just as the three worlds arise from the five elements. O twice-born, within the domain of this narrative exists the ancient Purana; and in the realm of the sky dwell the fourfold types of beings. This narrative is the foundation for all actions and qualities, just as the mind’s activities are diverse for all the senses. Without relying on this narrative, stories do not exist on earth, just as the body cannot be sustained without food and breath. All poets live by this narrative, as servants seeking advancement depend on a noble lord. Yet poets are not capable of distinguishing this epic, just as the three other ashramas cannot surpass the householder among the virtuous. May your minds always be devoted to dharma, for it alone is the true companion of one who has departed to the next world. Wealth and women, even when served skillfully, never attain completeness nor stability. The immeasurable, auspicious, pure, and sin-destroying Mahabharata, which emerged from the lips of Dvaipayana—whoever comprehends it as it is recited, what need has he for ablution with the waters of Pushkara? Whatever sin a brahmana commits during the day through his senses, by reciting the Mahabharata, he is freed from the evening twilight. Whatever sin he commits at night, by deed, mind, or speech, by reciting the Mahabharata, he is freed from the morning twilight. He who gives a hundred cows with golden horns to a learned brahmana versed in the Vedas, and who listens daily to the sacred tale of the Bharata, attains equal merit from both. This supreme, great narrative should be understood as vast, with its collection of parvas; hearing it at the outset brings happiness to people, just as a raft enables crossing the wide salty sea. At this point, the Purana reciter, having labored in the Purana, with joined palms, spoke: “I have told the entire story of Uttanka, which was recounted at Janamejaya’s snake sacrifice as a secondary episode. What do you wish to hear next? What shall I narrate?” The assembly replied, “We shall speak to you, O Raumaharshana, and you will answer us; let us, eager to listen, engage in the narration together.” There, the venerable family head, Shaunaka, sat near the fire sanctuary and said, “Because this is a long sacrificial session, there is time to hear all the stories.” He is one who knows those divine tales connected with gods and asuras, and all the stories of humans, serpents, and gandharvas. In this assembly, the learned family head, a twice-born, is wise, steadfast in vows, intelligent, and a teacher in both the scriptures and the forest tradition. He speaks truth, is devoted to self-restraint, ascetic, firm in his vows; he is honored by all of us, so let him be awaited. “When the teacher is seated in the highly revered seat,” Shaunaka continued, “then you shall speak whatever he, O best of twice-born, asks you.” “So be it,” the reciter replied. “When that great-souled teacher was seated, I will recount the sacred stories of various kinds that he asked about.” Then that foremost of Brahmins, having performed all his duties as prescribed—having satisfied the gods with offerings, the ancestors with water, and the sages with words—departed. There, where the Brahmarshis and Siddhas, steadfast in their vows, sat comfortably, having gathered at the sacrificial place, Sauti was seated before them. When the officiating priests and the members of the assembly were seated, the householder also took his seat; then Shaunaka spoke these words: “O dear one, your father once studied the entire Purana in former times, and all the Mahabharata from Krishna Dvaipayana; I hope you too have studied all that, O son of Romaharshana. For in the Purana are told divine stories and the ancient lineages of the wise, which we have heard before from your father. Among those, I wish first to hear of the lineage of Bhrigu; tell us this story, for we are blessed to listen to you. What was once properly studied by the best and most noble Brahmins, by the foremost sage Vaishampayana and others, and as it was told by them—” Thus, the stage was set for the sacred stories to be told, as the assembly awaited the wisdom and narrative of Sauti, son of Romaharshana, eager to hear the ancient tales handed down through generations.