Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 16
Chapter 153 — Brahmacarya-āśrama-dharma
The Dharma of the Student Stage
नृत्यञ्च वर्जयेदिति ख , ग , घ , ङ , छ , ञ , ट च सायं प्रातश्चेत्यादिः, नृत्यञ्च वै त्यजेदित्यन्तः पाठः ज पुस्तके नास्ति हिंसाम्परापवादं च अश्लीलं च विशेषतः दण्डादि धारयेन्नष्टमप्सु क्षिप्त्वान्यधारणं
nṛtyañca varjayediti kha , ga , gha , ṅa , cha , ña , ṭa ca sāyaṃ prātaścetyādiḥ, nṛtyañca vai tyajedityantaḥ pāṭhaḥ ja pustake nāsti hiṃsāmparāpavādaṃ ca aślīlaṃ ca viśeṣataḥ daṇḍādi dhārayennaṣṭamapsu kṣiptvānyadhāraṇaṃ
قراءة «يجب اجتناب الرقص» تَرِدُ في مخطوطات Kha وGa وGha وṄa وCha وÑa وṬa، متابعةً لعبارة «مساءً وصباحًا…»؛ أمّا الخاتمة «وبالحقّ ينبغي ترك الرقص» فلا توجد في مخطوط Ja. ويجب اجتناب العنف، وذمّ الآخرين والوقيعة فيهم، والفحش على وجه الخصوص. ويجوز حمل العصا (داṇḍa) وما شابهها؛ فإن فُقِدت، فبعد إلقائها في الماء يُتَّخذ غيرُها بدلًا.
Lord Agni (in the Agni Purana’s primary narration to sage Vasiṣṭha)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Vyakarana","practical_application":"Ethical prohibitions (non-violence, no slander, no obscenity) plus practical rule for carrying staff/implements and replacing them if lost; also notes manuscript-variant readings for accurate recitation/teaching.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Commentary","entry_title":"Prohibitions and Manuscript Readings; Rule for Staff Replacement","lookup_keywords":["hiṃsā","parāpavāda","aślīla","daṇḍa-dhāraṇa","pāṭha-bheda"],"quick_summary":"The verse (with noted pāṭha-bheda) emphasizes avoiding violence, slander, and obscenity, permits carrying a staff, and prescribes a ritualized replacement procedure if it is lost."}
Concept: Dharma is guarded by ahiṃsā, truthful speech (no slander), and śuddha-vāk (no obscenity); external marks (staff) support inner discipline, and śāstra must be transmitted with textual care.
Application: Adopt speech-ethics as daily vows; keep a simple staff/implement as a reminder of restraint; in teaching, note pāṭha-bheda rather than forcing a single reading.
Khanda Section: Rajadharma & Sadachara (Conduct, Prohibitions, and Social-Ethical Discipline)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A disciplined student with a staff stands near water; a lost staff is symbolically cast into water, and a new one is taken up; alongside, vignettes show avoidance of violence, slander, and obscenity; scribes compare manuscripts with variant readings.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, central brahmacārin holding daṇḍa by a riverbank, ghosted image of staff sinking in water, guru handing a replacement, side panels with restrained speech scenes, and a corner with palm-leaf manuscripts being compared","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, gold-accented staff and water ripples, guru-student exchange, small medallions depicting ‘avoid’ themes (violence, slander, obscenity) in subdued tones, ornate manuscript bundle with gold border","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, didactic storyboard: (1) carry daṇḍa (2) if lost, cast into water (3) take another; plus a neat panel titled pāṭha-bheda showing two manuscript lines differing, rendered like a classroom illustration","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, scholars in a library comparing manuscripts, marginal notes indicating variant readings, foreground student by a water tank receiving a new staff, refined architectural setting"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Kalyan","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: nṛtyañca → nṛtyam + ca; prātaścetyādiḥ → prātaḥ + ca + iti + ādiḥ; tyajedityantaḥ → tyajet + iti + antaḥ; hiṃsāmparāpavādaṃ → hiṃsām + para-apavādam; dhārayennaṣṭamapsu → dhārayet + naṣṭam + apsu; kṣiptvānyadhāraṇaṃ → kṣiptvā + anya-dhāraṇam. Verse contains extensive critical apparatus markers (kha/ga/...).
Related Themes: Agni Purana 153 (prohibitions and conduct rules)
FAQs
It teaches sadācāra (disciplinary conduct): refraining from dancing (per many manuscript readings), and especially avoiding violence, slander, and obscene behavior; it also notes a practical rule about carrying a staff and replacing it if lost after consigning the lost one to water.
Alongside theology and ritual, the Agni Purana preserves social-ethical regulations (sadācāra/rajadharma) and even records manuscript-level textual variants, demonstrating its breadth—from normative dharma to philological transmission.
Avoiding हिंसा (harm), परापवाद (defamation), and अश्लीलता (indecency) reduces pāpa (demerit) and supports purity of speech, mind, and action—foundational for dharmic living and effective religious practice.