The Soul of the Universe, the great Lord, spoke to Manu, son of the Sun, imparting the discipline of action and the path of Sāṃkhya in detail and with clarity. Desiring to hear more, the sages addressed Sūta, the wise and virtuous narrator, saying, “O Sūta, tell us of the characteristics of the discipline of action, for nothing in this world is hidden from you.” Sūta replied, “I shall explain the discipline of action as instructed by Viṣṇu himself, for this discipline is praised above a thousand disciplines of knowledge. From the discipline of action arises true knowledge; therefore, action is the supreme path. Even Brahman is attained only through the union of action and knowledge, not by knowledge alone. Thus, one whose mind is firm in action attains the eternal truth. The Veda is the very root of dharma, as is the conduct of those who truly know it. In this discipline, eight qualities of the self are held as foremost: compassion toward all beings, forbearance toward those who seek protection, absence of envy in the world, purity both inward and outward for the twice-born, performing one’s duties without hardship, and observing auspicious conduct. One should avoid miserliness, even regarding wealth gained in times of distress, and always be free from desire for others’ possessions and spouses. These eight qualities of the self are declared by those learned in the Purāṇas; this alone is the discipline of action, leading to the path of knowledge. Without the discipline of action, no one here attains knowledge. One should diligently practice the dharma taught in the śruti and smṛti. Each day, one should satisfy the gods, ancestors, and humans through offerings and rites that please all beings, sages, and hosts of spirits. The seers are to be worshipped with study, the ancestors with the prescribed oblations, living beings with offerings of food, and spirits with ritual offerings. These five sacrifices are enjoined for the removal of the five household slaughters: the mortar, the grinding stone, the hearth, the water pot, and the broom. These slaughters pertain to the householder, and because of them, he does not attain heaven; thus, these five sacrifices are proclaimed for the destruction of that sin. Even one who has received the twenty-two and eight sacraments, as declared, if devoid of the qualities of the self, does not attain liberation. Therefore, one who is endowed with these qualities should perform scripturally enjoined actions, always acting for the welfare of cows and Brahmins with his wealth. With cows, land, gold, garments, fragrant flowers, and water, one should worship the Auspicious One—who is Brahmā, Viṣṇu, the Sun, Rudra, Fire, and the Self. With vows, fasts, proper rituals, and faith, and free from envy, one should worship him who is beyond the senses, peaceful, subtle, unmanifest, eternal, Vāsudeva, the very form of the universe, from whom all manifestations arise. Brahmā, Viṣṇu, the Blessed One, the Sun, the Lord of Bulls, the eight Vasus, the eleven leaders of hosts, the guardians of the worlds, the ancestors, and the mothers—all these powers, both moving and unmoving, have their root in the Lord of the Unmanifest. Whether worship is performed to Brahmā, the Sun, Viṣṇu, or Śiva, when it is done without distinction, all that moves and does not move is worshipped. The supreme abode of Brahmā and the others, and the foundation of all three, is established in the form of the Veda; therefore, Pūṣan is to be worshipped with diligence. Thus, having made fire and the brahmins the foremost, one should honor them with gifts, vows, fasts, recitation, offerings, and the like. For one devoted to the practice of rites, who cherishes the Vedānta, śāstra, and smṛti, and who always fears wrongdoing, there is nothing here or in the next world that remains unattainable. Then the sages said, “O Sūta, recount in detail and in order the enumeration of the Purāṇas, and also the complete law of giving, properly and sequentially.” Sūta replied, “This very teaching was spoken in the Purāṇas by the Primeval Person, the Soul of the Universe, to Manu. Listen to it. The Purāṇa was first remembered by Brahmā as the earliest scripture, and from his mouths, the Vedas were then brought forth. In a previous cycle, there was only one Purāṇa, vast as a hundred crores of verses, a holy means to the three aims of life. When the worlds were consumed by fire, I, in the form of a horse, gathered the limbs—the four Vedas and the immense Purāṇa. I also took up Mīmāṃsā and Dharmaśāstra and composed them. Once more, at the beginning of the cycle, I took the form of a fish in the ocean of waters. All this I recounted while dwelling in the waters; having heard it, the four-faced Brahmā spoke it to the sages and the gods. Thus, the Purāṇa became the source of all scriptures. Yet, seeing its non-acceptance over time, I, assuming the form of Vyāsa, condensed it in every age—always in Dvāpara after Dvāpara—into four hundred thousand verses. Thus, I divided it into eighteen parts and made it manifest in this world. Even now, in the world of the gods, it exists in its vast form of a hundred crores. Its meaning here is contained in four hundred thousand verses in summary; the eighteen Purāṇas are now spoken of here. I shall name them, O best of sages, as formerly declared by Brahmā to Marīci. The Brāhma Purāṇa is said to have thirty thousand verses; whoever writes it out and gives it, along with a cow and water, on the full moon of Vaiśākha, is honored in Brahmā’s world. When the world was a golden lotus, this Purāṇa, based on that account, is called the Padma by the wise; the Padma Purāṇa is said to have fifty-five thousand verses. Whoever gives this Purāṇa, accompanied by a golden lotus and sesame seeds in the month of Jyeṣṭha, attains the fruit of an Aśvamedha sacrifice. That Purāṇa which Parāśara spoke, concerning the account of the Boar Epoch and all dharmas, is known as the Vaiṣṇava.” Thus the wisdom of the discipline of action, the supremacy of dharma, and the origin and enumeration of the Purāṇas were revealed, as spoken by the Lord and remembered by the sages.