यस्मात् सर्वम् इदं प्रपञ्चरचितं मायाजगज् जायते यस्मिंस् तिष्ठति याति चान्तसमये कल्पानुकल्पे पुनः यं ध्यात्वा मुनयः प्रपञ्चरहितं विन्दन्ति मोक्षं ध्रुवं तं वन्दे पुरुषोत्तमाख्यम् अमलं नित्यं विभुं निश्चलम्
I bow to that spotless, eternal, all-pervading, unmoving Supreme Person, from whom this entire world, woven by illusion, arises, in whom it abides, and into whom it dissolves at the end of each cycle; whom, when meditated upon, the sages attain certain liberation, free from the world.
यं ध्यायन्ति बुधाः समाधिसमये शुद्धं वियत्संनिभम् नित्यानन्दमयं प्रसन्नम् अमलं सर्वेश्वरं निर्गुणम् व्यक्ताव्यक्तपरं प्रपञ्चरहितं ध्यानैकगम्यं विभुम् तं संसारविनाशहेतुम् अजरं वन्दे हरिं मुक्तिदम्
I bow to Hari, the giver of liberation, whom the wise contemplate in deep meditation: pure, resembling the sky, composed of eternal bliss, serene, spotless, Lord of all, beyond qualities, beyond the manifest and unmanifest, free from the world, attainable only through meditation, all-pervading, the cause of the destruction of worldly existence, ageless.
सुपुण्ये नैमिषारण्ये पवित्रे सुमनोहरे नानामुनिजनाकीर्णे नानापुष्पोपशोभिते
In the supremely holy, delightful Naimisha forest, adorned by many kinds of sages and beautified with various flowers,
सरलैः कर्णिकारैश् च पनसैर् धवखादिरैः आम्रजम्बूकपित्थैश् च न्यग्रोधैर् देवदारुभिः
With simple karṇikāra, panas, dhava, khādira, mango, jambu, kapittha, banyan, and deodar trees,
अश्वत्थैः पारिजातैश् च चन्दनागुरुपाटलैः बकुलैः सप्तपर्णैश् च पुंनागैर् नागकेसरैः
With aśvattha, pārijāta, sandalwood, aguru, pāṭala, bakula, saptaparṇa, puṃnāga, and nāgakesara trees,
शालैस् तालैस् तमालैश् च नारिकेलैस् तथार्जुनैः अन्यैश् च बहुभिर् वृक्षैश् चम्पकाद्यैश् च शोभिते
With śāla, tāla, tamāla, coconut, arjuna, and many other trees, including campaka and others, it was splendid.
नानापक्षिगणाकीर्णे नानामृगगणैर् युते नानाजलाशयैः पुण्यैर् दीर्घिकाद्यैर् अलंकृते
Filled with various flocks of birds, accompanied by many kinds of animals, adorned with sacred waters and long ponds,
ब्राह्मणैः क्षत्रियैर् वैश्यैः शूद्रैश् चान्यैश् च जातिभिः वानप्रस्थैर् गृहस्थैश् च यतिभिर् ब्रह्मचारिभिः
Inhabited by brāhmaṇas, kṣatriyas, vaiśyas, śūdras, and other castes, as well as forest-dwellers, householders, ascetics, and students,
संपन्नैर् गोकुलैश् चैव सर्वत्र समलंकृते यवगोधूमचणकैर् माषमुद्गतिलेक्षुभिः
Abundantly decorated everywhere with herds of cattle, with barley, wheat, chickpeas, black gram, green gram, sesame, and sugarcane,
चीनकाद्यैस् तथा मेध्यैः सस्यैश् चान्यैश् च शोभिते तत्र दीप्ते हुतवहे हूयमाने महामखे
Adorned with pure crops such as Chinese grains and others, and with many other plants, there, in the blazing sacrificial fire, a great sacrifice was being offered.
यजतां नैमिषेयाणां सत्त्रे द्वादशवार्षिके आजग्मुस् तत्र मुनयस् तथान्ये ऽपि द्विजातयः
At the twelve-year sacrifice of the residents of Naimisha, many sages and other twice-borns gathered there.
तान् आगतान् द्विजांस् ते तु पूजां चक्रुर् यथोचिताम् तेषु तत्रोपविष्टेषु ऋत्विग्भिः सहितेषु च
Those who arrived were duly honored by the twice-borns; when they were seated together with the officiating priests,
तत्राजगाम सूतस् तु मतिमांल् लोमहर्षणः तं दृष्ट्वा ते मुनिवराः पूजां चक्रुर् मुदान्विताः
There arrived the wise Sūta, Lomaharṣaṇa; seeing him, the eminent sages joyfully honored him.
सो ऽपि तान् प्रतिपूज्यैव संविवेश वरासने कथां चक्रुस् तदान्योन्यं सूतेन सहिता द्विजाः
He, having respectfully greeted them, sat on the honored seat; then the twice-borns, together with the Sūta, began a conversation among themselves.
कथान्ते व्यासशिष्यं ते पप्रच्छुः संशयं मुदा ऋत्विग्भिः सहिताः सर्वे सदस्यैः सह दीक्षिताः
At the end of the conversation, all the initiates, together with the officiating priests and the assembly, joyfully questioned Vyāsa's disciple about their doubts.
पुराणागमशास्त्राणि सेतिहासानि सत्तम जानासि देवदैत्यानां चरितं जन्म कर्म च
O best of men, you know the Purāṇas, the Āgamas, the scriptures, and the histories; you know the deeds, births, and actions of gods and demons.
न ते ऽस्त्य् अविदितं किंचिद् वेदे शास्त्रे च भारते पुराणे मोक्षशास्त्रे च सर्वज्ञो ऽसि महामते
There is nothing unknown to you in the Vedas, the scriptures, the Mahābhārata, the Purāṇas, and the scriptures of liberation; you are all-knowing, O wise one.
यथापूर्वम् इदं सर्वम् उत्पन्नं सचराचरम् ससुरासुरगन्धर्वं सयक्षोरगराक्षसम्
How, as before, did all this arise—moving and unmoving, with gods, demons, gandharvas, yakṣas, serpents, and rākṣasas?
श्रोतुम् इच्छामहे सूत ब्रूहि सर्वं यथा जगत् बभूव भूयश् च यथा महाभाग भविष्यति
We wish to hear, O Sūta, speak everything: how the world came to be, and, O illustrious one, how it will be again.
यतश् चैव जगत् सूत यतश् चैव चराचरम् लीनम् आसीत् तथा यत्र लयम् एष्यति यत्र च
From where, O Sūta, did the world arise, and from where did the moving and unmoving become absorbed? Likewise, where will dissolution occur, and where?
अविकाराय शुद्धाय नित्याय परमात्मने सदैकरूपरूपाय विष्णवे सर्वजिष्णवे
To the changeless, pure, eternal Supreme Self, whose form is ever one, to Viṣṇu, conqueror of all, I offer praise.
नमो हिरण्यगर्भाय हरये शङ्कराय च वासुदेवाय ताराय सर्गस्थित्यन्तकर्मणे
Salutations to Hiraṇyagarbha, to Hari, to Śaṅkara, to Vāsudeva, to the savior, who performs creation, preservation, and destruction.
एकानेकस्वरूपाय स्थूलसूक्ष्मात्मने नमः अव्यक्तव्यक्तभूताय विष्णवे मुक्तिहेतवे
To the one who is both one and many in form, whose essence is gross and subtle, salutations; to Viṣṇu, who is manifest and unmanifest, the cause of liberation.
सर्गस्थितिविनाशाय जगतो यो ऽजरामरः मूलभूतो नमस् तस्मै विष्णवे परमात्मने
To the ageless and immortal root of creation, preservation, and destruction of the world, salutations to Viṣṇu, the Supreme Self.
आधारभूतं विश्वस्याप्य् अणीयांसम् अणीयसाम् प्रणम्य सर्वभूतस्थम् अच्युतं पुरुषोत्तमम्
Having bowed to the foundation of the universe, subtler than the subtlest, abiding in all beings, to Acyuta, the Supreme Person.
ज्ञानस्वरूपम् अत्यन्तं निर्मलं परमार्थतः तम् एवार्थस्वरूपेण भ्रान्तिदर्शनतः स्थितम्
The essence of knowledge, utterly pure in ultimate reality, is established as the true nature, though seen as distorted due to delusion.
विष्णुं ग्रसिष्णुं विश्वस्य स्थितौ सर्गे तथा प्रभुम् सर्वज्ञं जगताम् ईशम् अजम् अक्षयम् अव्ययम्
Viṣṇu, who devours the universe at dissolution, who is the lord in preservation and creation, all-knowing, ruler of worlds, unborn, imperishable, immutable.
आद्यं सुसूक्ष्मं विश्वेशं ब्रह्मादीन् प्रणिपत्य च इतिहासपुराणज्ञं वेदवेदाङ्गपारगम्
The primordial, most subtle, lord of the universe, having bowed to Brahmā and others, who knows histories and Purāṇas, who has mastered the Vedas and their branches.
सर्वशास्त्रार्थतत्त्वज्ञं पराशरसुतं प्रभुम् गुरुं प्रणम्य वक्ष्यामि पुराणं वेदसंमितम्
Having bowed to the master, the son of Parāśara, who knows the essence and truth of all scriptures, I will speak the Purāṇa in accordance with the Vedas.
कथयामि यथा पूर्वं दक्षाद्यैर् मुनिसत्तमैः पृष्टः प्रोवाच भगवान् अब्जयोनिः पितामहः
I will narrate as formerly spoken by the revered lotus-born Pitāmaha, when asked by Dakṣa and other eminent sages.