Once, Vyāsa, having been respectfully served, awakened in you a mind pure and deeply devoted to the Purāṇas, so you might understand the meaning of history and ancient lore. Now, O wise one, among these foremost Brāhmaṇas, there has arisen a sincere desire to hear the Purāṇa; you are urged to recite it for them. All these great souls, gathered from various lineages, are expounders of Brahman. Let them hear the portions of the Purāṇa relevant to each. In this long and complete sacrificial session, you must narrate to these sages the Padma Purāṇa in its entirety, O greatly wise one. Tell us truly: How did the lotus arise? How did Brahmā come to be upon it? How was creation accomplished by the one who emerged? Thus questioned, Laumaharṣaṇa replied to them with auspicious words, speaking concisely and with reason. He said, “I am pleased and honored by you, who are devoted to all dharmas and knowledgeable in the Purāṇas, for urging me here to reveal the meaning of the Purāṇa. 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. The preservation of the lineages of gods, sages, and kings of immeasurable splendor, and the praises of the great souls, must be undertaken. Those who expound Brahman are found in histories and Purāṇas; for no Sūta is seen to have authority in the Vedas. During the sacrifice of the great soul 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. At that sacrifice, a Sūta was born; in this world, he is called Sūta. When the Indra-sacrifice is commenced, with Bṛhaspati joined to the planets, that very Indra, in Bṛhaspati’s sacrifice, saw the birth of the Sūta; by the hand of a disciple, what was poured out surpassed the offering of the teacher. Through a lower and upper stream, that mixture of castes was born—offspring arising 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; like the 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. I honor the ancient person, who follows the words of Brahman; to Viṣṇu, who took the form of a man, whose nature is praised. As soon as he was born, the Veda approached him, together with its branches. With his intellect, he churned the ocean of the Veda, producing 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. For 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, 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, and, remaining within the waters, spoke all this in full. Having heard, the Four-faced One, Brahmā, spoke to the sages and to the knowers of the Vedas. At that time, the origin of all the scriptures and of the Purāṇa took place. Yet, with time, seeing that the Purāṇa was not being properly retained, the Lord, in the form of Vyāsa, appeared in every age for the sake of compilation. In each Dvāpara age, he declared it in four hundred thousand verses; then, dividing it into eighteen parts, he revealed it in this world. Even today, in the worlds of the gods, it extends to a hundred crores of verses; but here, it is arranged in summary as four hundred thousand. Now, I shall declare the highly meritorious Purāṇa called Padma, consisting of fifty-five thousand verses and endowed with five sections. First is the Section on Creation, then the Section on the Earth; after that, the Section on Heaven, then the Section on the Netherworld. The fifth, known as the Uttara Section, is the supreme section. This very great Padma has arisen, from which the world is composed. Because its narratives are based on the lotus, it is therefore called Padma. This Purāṇa is pure, purified by the greatness of Viṣṇu. What the god of gods, Hari, formerly spoke to Brahmā, and what Brahmā previously told Marīci in its entirety—this very Padma Purāṇa was declared by Brahmā in the world. And because it is the support of all beings, the wise call it Padma.