THE FIRST BOOK
Chapter III
On praising the Purâ n as and on each Vyâsa of every Dvâpara Yuga
1-11. Sûta said :— “O best of the Munis! I am now telling you the names of the Purâ n as, etc., exactly as 1 have heard from Veda Vyâsa, the son of Satyavati; listen.
The Purâ n a beginning with “ma” are two in number; those beginning with “bha” are two; those beginning with “bra” are three; those beginning with “va” are four; those beginning respectively with “A”, “na”, “pa”, “Ling”, “ga”, “kû” and “Ska” are one each and “ma” means Matsya Purâna, Mârkandeya Purâna; “Bha” signifies Bhavi s ya, Bhâgavat Purâ n as; “Bra” signifies Brahmâ, Brahmâ nd a and Brahmâvaivarta Purâ n as; “va” signifies Vâman, Vayu, Vi sn u and Varaha Purâ n as; “A” signifies Agni Purâ n a; “Na” signifies Narada Purâna; “Pa” signifies Padma Purâna; “Ling” signifies Linga Purânam; “Ga” signifies Govinda Purâ n am; Kû signifies Kurma Purâna and “Ska” signifies Skanda Purânam. These are the eighteen Purâ n as. O Saunaka! In the Matsya Purâ n a there are fourteen thousand slokas; in the wonderfully varied Markandeya Purânam there are nine thousand slokas. In the Bhavisya Purâ n a fourteen thousand and five hundred slokas are counted by the Munis, the seers of truth. In the holy Bhâgavata there are eighteen thousand S’lokas; in the Brahmâ Purâ n a there are Ajuta (ten thousand) S’lokas. In the Brahmâ nd a Purâ n a there are twelve thousand one hundred S’lokas; in the Brahmâ Vaivarta Purâ n am there are eighteen thousand S’lokas. In the Vaman Purâ n a there are Ajuta (ten thousand) S’lokas; in the Vayu Purâ n am there are twenty-four thousand and six hundred S’lokas; in the greatly wonderful Vi sn u Purâna there are twenty-three thousand S’lokas; in the Agni Purâ n am there are sixteen thousand S’lokas; in the Brihat Narada Purâ n am, there are twenty-five thousand S’lokas, in the big Padma Purâ n a there are fifty-five thousand s’lokas; in the voluminous Linga Purâ n a eleven thousand s’lokas exist; in the Garu d a Purâ n am spoken by Hari nineteen thousand s’lokas exist; iu the Kurma Purâ n a, seventeen thousand s’lokas exist and in the greatly wonderful Skanda Purâ n a there are eighty-one thousand s’lokas, O sinless Ri s is! Thus I have described
to you the names of all the Purâ n as and the number of verses contained in them. Now hear about the Upa Purâ n as.
12-17. The first is the Upapurâ n a narrated by Sanat Kumâra; next comes Narasimha Purâ n a; then Naradiya Purâ n a, S’iva Purâ n a, Purâ n a narrated by Durvasa, Kapila Purâ n a, Manava Purâ n a, Aus’anasa Purâ n a, Varu n a Purâ n a. Kalika Purâ n a, Samva Purâ n a, Nandi Kes’wara Purâ n a, Saura Purâ n a, Purâ n a spoken by Parâs’ara, Âditya Purâ n a, Mahesvara Purâ n a, Bhâgavata and Vasi st ha Purâ n a. These Upa Purâ n as are described by the Mahatmas.
After compiling the eighteen Purâ n as, Veda Vyâsa, the son of Satyavati composed Mahabharata, that has no rival, out of these Purâ n as.
18-24. At every Manvantara, in each Dvâpara Yuga, Veda Vyâsa expounds the Purâ n as duly to preserve the religion. Veda Vyâsa is no other person than Vi sn u Himself; He, in the form of Veda Vyâsa, divides the (one) Veda into four parts, in every Dvâpara Yuga, for the good of the world. The Brahmâ n as of the Kali age are shortlived and their intellect (Buddhi) is not sharp; they cannot realise the meaning after studying the Vedas; knowing this in every Dvâpara Yuga Bhagavân expounds the holy Purâ n a Samhitas. The more so because women, S’udras, and the lower Dvijas are not entitled to hear the Vedas; for their good, the Purâ n as have been composed. Tne present auspicious Manvantara is Vaivasvata; it is the seventh in due order; and the son of Satyavati, the best of the knowers of Dharma, is the Veda Vyâsa of the 28th Dvâpara Yuga of this seventh Manvantara. He is my Guru; in the next Dvâpara, Yuga Asvatthama, the son of Drona will be the Veda Vyâsa. Twenty-seven Veda Vyâsas had expired and they duly compiled each their own Purâna Samhitas in their own Dvâpara Yugas.
25-35. The Ri s is said :— “O highly fortunate Sûta! kindly describe to us the names of the previous Veda Vyâsas, the reciters of the Purâ n as in the Dvâpara Yugas.
Sûta said :— In the first Dvâpara, Brahmâ Himself divided the Vedas; in the second Dvâpara, the first Prajapati Vyâsa did the same; so S’akra, in the third, Brihaspati, in the fourth, Surya in the fifth; Yama, in the sixth, Indra, in the seventh, Vasi st ha, in the eighth; Sarasvata Ri s i in the ninth, Tridhama, in the tenth; Trivri s a, in the eleventh, Bharadvâja, in the twelfth; Antariksa, in the thirteenth; Dharma, in the fourteenth; Evaruni in the fifteenth; Dhananjaya, in the sixteenth; Medhatithi in tba seventeenth; Vrati, in the eighteenth; Atri, in the nineteenth; Gautama in the twentieth, Uttama, whose soul was fixed on Hari, in the twenty-first, Vâjasravâ Vena, in the twenty second; his family descendant Soma
iu the twenty-third; Trinavi n du, in the twenty-fourth; Bhârgava, in the twenty-fifth; Sakti, in the twenty-sixth, Jâtûkar n ya in the twenty-seventh and Kri sn a Dvaipâyana became the twenty-eighth Veda Vyâs in the Dvâpara Yugas. Thus I have spoken of the 28 Veda Vyâsas, as I heard. 1 have heard the holy S’rimad Bhâgavat from the month of Kri sn a Dvaipayana. This removes all troubles, yields all desires, and gives Moksa and is full of the meanings of the Vedas. This treatise contains the essence of all the S’astras and is dear always to the Mamuksas (those who want Moksa or liberation).
36-43. O best Munis! Thus, compiling the Purâ n as Veda Vyâsa thought this Purâ n a to be the best; so (without teaching it to other persons) he settled that his own son the high-sould S’uka Deva born of the dry woods used for kindling fire (excited by attrition), having no passion for the worldly things, would be the fit student to be taught this Purâ n a and therefore taught him; at that time I was a fellow student along with S’aka Deva and I heard every thing from the mouth of Vyâsa Deva and realised th« secret meanings thereof. This has happened through the grace of the merciful Guru Veda Vyâsa.
Here ends the Third Chapter of S’rimad Devi Bhâgavatam on praising the Purâ n as and on each Vyâsa of every Dvâpara Yuga.