evam - in this way; lakṣaṇa-lakṣyāṇi - symptomized by their characteristics; purāṇāni - the Purāṇas; purā-vidaḥ - those who are expert in such ancient histories; munayaḥ - the sages; aṣṭādaśa - eighteen; prāhuḥ - say; kṣullakāni - minor; mahānti - great; ca - also.

Sages expert in ancient histories have declared that the Purāṇas, according to their various characteristics, can be divided into eighteen major Purāṇas and eighteen secondary Purāṇas.