Hearing these words of instruction, the sage received them with reverence and, filled with eagerness to behold all the holy lands, set out swiftly on his journey. As he departed and rolled his sacred wheel across the earth, a wondrous event occurred: before the eyes of the assembled, the rim of his wheel broke at a particular spot. From that moment, this place became known as Naimiṣa, the supremely holy field. Naimiṣa is unique, for the entrance of the age of Kali is not permitted here. It was for this reason that I, together with assemblies of sages and accomplished souls—those great ones who are themselves fearful of the coming of Kali—established this place as a sanctuary. Here, sacrifices are performed without the slaughter of animals. Instead, offerings such as rice cakes and other pure substances are used, and this gentle practice is to be maintained until the return of the Satya Yuga. By the conjunction of good fortune, you, O Sūta, have arrived here in every way. Therefore, today, narrate to us the Purāṇa, which is purifying and approved by Brahmā himself. We are all eager to listen, and you are indeed wise and fit to speak. Our minds are united, and we have set aside all other occupations to hear you. O Sūta, may you be long-lived and free from the threefold afflictions. Today, please recite for us the auspicious and meritorious Bhāgavata Purāṇa. In it, the proper procedures and teachings of dharma, artha, and kāma are described, and, through the knowledge thus gained, liberation is taught by the sage. The tale, as told by the sage Dvaipāyana, is supremely purifying. We never grow weary of hearing that delightful story, O Sūta. This Purāṇa is the sole vessel of all virtues, the wondrous and pure play of the Mother of all worlds, the destroyer of all impurities, and the very root of all noble desires. The account of the Purāṇas is traditionally preceded by the description of Vyāsa and the respective ages. Sūta then spoke: “Listen, O best of sages, as I recount the Purāṇas as I have heard them in truth from Vyāsa, the son of Satyavatī. There are the Madvaya, Bhadvaya, Bratraya, and Vacatuṣṭaya—these are the Purāṇas, each with its own distinguishing marks. The Matsya and other Purāṇas are said to have fourteen thousand verses. Likewise, there are those with fourteen thousand and five hundred verses. The meritorious Bhāgavata Purāṇa has eighteen thousand verses, and the Brahma Purāṇa is counted as having ten thousand. The Brahmāṇḍa Purāṇa contains twelve thousand and one hundred verses, and the Brahmavaivarta Purāṇa has eighteen thousand. The Vāmana Purāṇa is ten thousand verses long, while the Vāyu Purāṇa is six hundred; O Śaunaka, the total number of verses in these is twenty-four thousand. The wondrous Vaiṣṇava Purāṇa has twenty-three thousand verses, and the Vārāha Purāṇa has twenty-four thousand. The Agni Purāṇa contains sixteen thousand verses, and the Nārada Purāṇa, considered supreme, has twenty-five thousand. The extensive Padma Purāṇa is said to have fifty-five thousand verses, and the revered Liṅga Purāṇa has eleven thousand. The Garuḍa Purāṇa, spoken by Hari, consists of nineteen thousand verses, and the Kūrma Purāṇa contains seventeen thousand. The most marvelous Skanda Purāṇa has eighty-one thousand verses. Thus, O sinless ones, I have told you the names and the verse counts of the Purāṇas in detail. In the same way, listen, O best of sages, to the Upapurāṇas: First is the Sanatkumāra, then the Nārasiṃha. There are also the Nārada, Śiva, and the incomparable Daurvāsasa; the Kāpila, Mānava, and the one known as Kauśanasa. The Vāruṇa, Kālikā, Sāmba, the auspicious one composed by Nandi; the Saura, that taught by Parāśara, and the extensive Āditya. The Māheśvara, Bhāgavata, and the detailed Vāsiṣṭha—these Upapurāṇas have all been recounted by the great souls. Having composed the eighteen Purāṇas, the son of Satyavatī created the unrivaled narrative called the Bhārata, which is supplemented by these Purāṇas. In every Manvantara, in each Dvāpara Yuga, one who seeks righteousness brings forth the Purāṇas in proper order. In every Dvāpara Yuga, Viṣṇu, in the form of Vyāsa, divides the single Veda into many, desiring the welfare of all beings. Knowing that in the Kali age the brāhmaṇas would be short-lived and of limited understanding, he composes the sacred collection of Purāṇas in every age. For women, Śūdras, and the sons of twice-borns who are unfit to hear the Veda, the Purāṇas were made for their benefit. Now, in this auspicious seventh Manvantara, called Vaivasvata, when the twenty-eighth Dvāpara arrives, O best of sages, Vyāsa, the son of Satyavatī—my revered teacher and knower of dharma—will become Drauni, the Vyāsa, at the twenty-ninth cycle. In the same way, there have been twenty-seven Vyāsas in the past, and those great ones have recited the collections of Purāṇas in every age. The sages then asked, “Tell us, O highly fortunate Sūta, who were the Vyāsas born in previous ages, and who were the narrators of the Purāṇas in each Dvāpara Yuga?” Sūta replied: “In the first Dvāpara, the Vedas were divided by Svayambhū himself. In the second Dvāpara, Prajāpati performed the work of Vyāsa. In the third, Uśanas was Vyāsa; in the fourth, Bṛhaspati; in the fifth, Savitṛ was Vyāsa; in the sixth, Mṛtyu; in the seventh, Maghavan; in the eighth, Vasiṣṭha is remembered; in the ninth, Sārasvata; and in the tenth, Tridhāmā. In the eleventh, Trivṛṣa; then Bharadvāja after that; in the thirteenth, Antarikṣa, and Dharma in the fourteenth. In the fifteenth, Trayyaruṇi; in the sixteenth, Dhanañjaya; Medhātithi in the seventeenth, and Vratī in the eighteenth.” Thus, the sages listened as the sacred lineage of the Vyāsas and the tradition of the Purāṇas was revealed to them, linking the ages and the wisdom of the rishis in an unbroken chain of knowledge and devotion.