At the sacred forest of Naimiṣa, a company of sages had gathered to perform a great and lengthy sacrifice. It was there that Ugraśravas, known as Sūta, was instructed to go—his task: to answer the sages’ questions about dharma. Obedient to this call, Ugraśravas approached the assembly of wise and eminent sages, greeting them with joined palms and utmost respect. His humility and reverence pleased the sacrificers and their gathered assembly, and in turn, they honored him as was fitting for one of his virtue. The sages, coming together, inquired, “O Sūta, from where have you come? What land brings you here?” They asked him to share the reason for his arrival, following the tradition. In reply, Ugraśravas explained, “I was sent by my father, the wise disciple of Vyāsa, who instructed me: Go to the sages, serve them, and speak to them whatever they ask. Let the venerable ones question me, and I shall narrate the stories they desire—be it ancient legend, history, or the various kinds of dharma.” The best of the sages listened eagerly to his gentle, melodious words. Among the assembly, seeing the trustworthy and learned Laumaharṣaṇa, a desire arose to hear the Purāṇa. Present in that gathering was the venerable Śaunaka, head of the family, deeply learned in all the scriptures, wise, and a teacher in the forest of knowledge. Relying on his authority, the seeker of dharma addressed Sūta, saying, “O Sūta, of great intellect, you are the foremost knower of Brahman. Vyāsa, after being properly served, drew forth from you a mind pure and devoted to the Purāṇas, for the sake of understanding the meaning of ancient lore and history. Among these foremost Brāhmaṇas, there is now a desire to hear the Purāṇa; you should recite it to them. All these great souls, assembled from various lineages and expounders of Brahman, wish to hear the portions of the Purāṇa relevant to each. In this long and complete sacrificial session, you must narrate to the sages the Padma Purāṇa in its entirety, O greatly wise one. Tell us truly: How did the lotus arise, and how did Brahmā come to be there? How was creation accomplished by the one who emerged?” Thus questioned, Laumaharṣaṇa replied with auspicious and reasoned words: “I am pleased and honored by you, who are devoted to all dharmas and knowledgeable in the Purāṇas, for urging me to speak on their meaning. All that I have heard and that is well known, I will tell you, for this is the eternal duty of the Sūta, as recognized by the virtuous. It is our task to preserve the lineages of gods, sages, and kings of immeasurable splendor, and to sing the praises of the great souls. “Those who are expounders of Brahman are found in the histories and Purāṇas, for no Sūta is seen to have authority in the Vedas. In the sacrifice of the great King Pṛthu, the Māgadha and the Sūta praised that lord of men. Pleased, the king granted them a boon: the Sūtas received their own domain, and the Māgadhas theirs. There, at the time of the sacrifice, a Sūta was born; in this world, he is known as Sūta. When the Indra-sacrifice is commenced, with Bṛhaspati joined to the planets, that very Indra, in the sacrifice of Bṛhaspati, saw the birth of the Sūta; what was poured out by the hand of a disciple overcame the offering of the teacher. “Through a mingling of higher and lower streams, a mixture of castes was born—offspring from a Kṣatriya and a Brāhmaṇa woman. By similarity with the former, their differences are described; this is the middle duty of the Sūta, one who lives by the field. In the Purāṇas, my authority has been established here by the Brāhmaṇas. Seeing the law, I have been questioned by you, O speakers of Brahman. Therefore, I shall rightly declare on earth the Purāṇa, honored by sages. “The mind-born daughter of the ancestors became the wife of Vāsava. Rejected by the ancestors, she entered the womb of a fish, and, like a kindling stick for fire, she became the cause of a virtuous birth. In her was born the pure-souled great sage from Parāśara; to that blessed one, the truthful creator, I offer homage. “To the ancient person who follows the words of Brahman, to Viṣṇu, who took the form of a man and whose nature is praised, I bow. As soon as he was born, the Veda approached him with all its branches; having churned the ocean of the Veda with his intellect, he produced light in the world and the moon of the Mahābhārata. If these three—Bhārata, the sun, and Viṣṇu—did not exist, the world would remain in the darkness of ignorance. Know Kṛṣṇa Dvaipāyana Vyāsa as Nārāyaṇa, the Lord. Who else but the lotus-eyed one could be the author of the Mahābhārata? “Therefore, I have heard the Purāṇa from the speakers of Brahman, from the all-knowing one, honored in all worlds and of blazing splendor. The Purāṇa, first among all scriptures, was remembered by Brahmā. It is the highest among all worlds, the foundation of all knowledge, the means for the three aims of life, virtuous, and extending to a hundred crores. “When all the worlds were exhausted, Keśava, in the form of a horse, at Brahmā’s command, retrieved the Vedas. The four Vedas, their limbs, the Purāṇa, and the vast science of law—all the scriptures were seized by the Asura and made his own. In the form of a fish, the Lord took them at the beginning of the kalpa, in the ocean of waters. Remaining within the waters, He spoke all this in full.” Thus, with reverence and clarity, Sūta prepared to narrate the sacred stories as the sages listened, eager to receive the ancient wisdom.