Knowing the thoughts of the sage Dvaipayana, the blessed Brahma, teacher of the worlds, himself arrived there. For the pleasure of the sage and the welfare of all beings, Brahma appeared before Vyasa, and the sage, astonished at this divine visitation, stood with joined palms and bowed in reverence. Surrounded by hosts of sages, Brahma arranged for a seat to be placed. Upon that supreme golden seat, Brahma took his place, and Vyasa, the son of Vasu, respectfully sat nearby. With Brahma’s permission, Krishna Dvaipayana Vyasa—pleased and smiling with pure joy—sat close to the seat. Then, radiant in his splendor, Vyasa addressed Brahma, the supreme lord, saying, “O blessed one, this revered poem has been composed by me. Within it lies the secret of the Veda, all that I have established, and the detailed arrangement of the Vedas with their limbs and Upanishads. It contains the emergence and dissolution of histories and ancient tales, and what is called the threefold time: past, present, and future. “In it are set forth the determination of aging, death, fear, disease, existence and non-existence, and the many forms of dharma, as well as the characteristics of the stages of life. The arrangement of the four varnas is described, along with the entirety of the Puranas, the practices of austerity and celibacy, and the mysteries of the earth, the moon, and the sun. The measures of planets, stars, and constellations, their cycles, the Rig, Yajur, and Sama Vedas, and the very essence of the Vedas are all found here. “Logic, phonetics, medicine, charity, and the Pashupata doctrine are included; thus, the birth of many disciplines, both divine and human, is described. The poem praises holy places and blessed lands, as well as rivers, mountains, forests, and the ocean. Divine ancient tales, the cycles of creation, the skill of warfare, the varieties of speech, and the order of worldly conduct are all explained. And whatever is the all-pervading reality—this too is explained here; there is no other writer on earth who has done so. “Even compared to the great sage Vasishtha, renowned for his austerity, I consider you superior, O Brahma, for you possess knowledge of secret wisdom. From your very birth I have known you to be devoted to the Vedas; and since you have declared this to be a poem, therefore it shall be called a poem. Poets are not capable of describing the qualities of this poem, just as the other three stages of life cannot fully describe the householder. “If you had not kindled the fire of knowledge, the world would have become dull, blind, deaf, mad, and enveloped in darkness. For the world, blinded and bound by its own actions, you have brought a festival of vision to the intellect with the collyrium-stick of knowledge. By you, O sun of the Bharata, the darkness of men has been destroyed. By the full moon of ancient tales, shining with the light of the Vedas, the minds of men, gentle as lotuses, have been gladdened. By the lamp of history, which destroys the veil of delusion, the entire womb of the world has been properly illuminated.” Brahma continued, “The summary chapter is the seed, with the stories of Pauloma and Astika as roots; the section on origins is its trunk, and the Sabha Parva is its knot. It is rich with the form of the Aranyaka Parva, and contains the essence of the Virata and Udyoga Parvas; the Bhishma Parva is its great branch, and the Drona Parva its leaves. The Karna Parva is adorned with flowers, the Shalya Parva with fragrance; the Stri Parva is its resting place, and the Shanti Parva its great fruit. It is sheltered by the Ashvamedhika and Amshasana Parvas, and the Ashramavasika Parva; the Mausala Parva is its summary, and it is served by worthy twice-born men. It will be the support of all the foremost poets, just as the inexhaustible cloud is for all beings, and the great tree of Bharata.” He then said, “Let Ganesha be remembered, O sage, for the purpose of writing this poem.” Having thus spoken, Brahma, the blessed creator of the world, departed to his own abode, accompanied by the hosts of sages and gods. Then Vyasa, the son of Satyavati, remembered Heramba, Ganesha. As soon as he was remembered, the Lord of Ganas, fulfiller of his devotee’s wishes, arrived where Vyasa was standing. Having been worshipped and offered a seat, Vyasa then spoke to the sinless Gananayaka, “Be the scribe of this Bharata, as I recite it and as it is conceived in my mind.” Hearing this, the Lord of Obstacles replied, “If my pen should not pause even for a moment while writing, then I shall be the scribe.” Vyasa agreed, saying, “Do not write anywhere without understanding.” Having said “Om,” Ganesha indeed became the scribe. Then the sage, out of hidden curiosity, composed intricate knots in the text, in accordance with the condition he had set. There are eight thousand verses and eight hundred more; I know them, Shuka knows them, and Sanjaya may or may not know them. Even today, O sage, that knot of verses remains firmly composed; it cannot be unraveled because of the depth and subtlety of its meaning. Even Ganesha, though all-knowing, would pause for a moment in thought; during that time, Vyasa composed many other verses. Now, I shall describe the branches, flowers, and fruits of that tree, endowed with sweet, pure, and nourishing essence, unbreakable even by the immortals.