Agni Purana — Yoga & Brahma-vidya, Shloka 2
Brahma-jñāna
Knowledge of Brahman
अहं ब्रह्म परं ज्योतिरादिकार्यविवर्जितम् अहं ब्रह्म परं ज्योतिर्विराडात्मविवर्जितं
ahaṃ brahma paraṃ jyotirādikāryavivarjitam ahaṃ brahma paraṃ jyotirvirāḍātmavivarjitaṃ
أنا البراهمان—النور الأسمى—منزَّه عن كل علّيةٍ أولى وعن آثارها. أنا البراهمان—النور الأسمى—غير متماهٍ مع فيرَاط (Virāṭ، الشخص الكوني) ولا مع تصوّرات الأنا المتجسدة.
Lord Agni (instructing the sage Vasiṣṭha in Brahma-vidyā context)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Philosophy","secondary_vidya":"Mantra","practical_application":"Contemplate Brahman as beyond causality (ādi-kārya) and beyond cosmic-body identification (virāṭ); supports disidentification from macrocosm and ego-sense.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Definition","entry_title":"Brahman Beyond Causality and Virāṭ Identification","lookup_keywords":["ādi-kārya-vivarjita","virāṭ-ātma-vivarjita","ahaṃ brahma","parama-jyotis","upādhi-tyāga"],"quick_summary":"Define Brahman as the light of awareness untouched by cause-effect chains and not limited by the cosmic-person (virāṭ) standpoint; meditate by dropping all 'I am the body/world' notions."}
Alamkara Type: Anaphora; also śleṣa-like didactic compression in compounds (ādi-kārya, virāṭ-ātma).
Concept: Brahman is not an effect nor a cause within prakṛti; it is also not the virāṭ standpoint—pure consciousness beyond all upādhis.
Application: Practice 'kāraṇa-kārya-viveka': observe thoughts of origin, time, creation as objects; return to the self-evident light that knows them.
Khanda Section: Moksha-jnana / Advaita-Vedanta (Brahma-vidya)
Primary Rasa: Shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A luminous center labeled as Brahman stands untouched while a chain of cause-and-effect symbols and a grand virāṭ figure appear as translucent overlays that fade away.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: towering translucent Virāṭ with galaxies and beings in the body, behind it a brighter formless jyotis; causal chain motifs (seed-sprout-wheel) dissolving near the light; earthy reds and golds.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: ornate but faint Virāṭ silhouette with embedded worlds; central thick gold-leaf aura representing nirguṇa jyotis overpowering the figure; causal symbols rendered at the border, subdued.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: didactic composition—left panel causal sequence (seed→sprout→tree), right panel Virāṭ body-map, center panel pure light; arrows showing negation/withdrawal into the center.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature: cosmic Virāṭ painted delicately with fine detail; a bright blank gold circle at the heart/sky indicating Brahman beyond depiction; causal motifs in margins like illuminated manuscript glosses."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"contemplative"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: ज्योतिरादिकार्यविवर्जितम् = ज्योतिः + आदिकार्यविवर्जितम् (visarga→र्); ज्योतिर् विराडात्मविवर्जितम् = ज्योतिः + विराडात्मविवर्जितम् (visarga→र्).
Related Themes: Agni Purana Brahma-jñāna Adhyaya 377 (continuation of 'ahaṃ brahma paraṃ jyotiḥ' negations)
FAQs
This verse imparts Brahma-vidyā (non-dual Self-knowledge): realizing the Self as Brahman, self-luminous and beyond the chain of cause-and-effect, rather than as any cosmic or bodily identity.
Alongside ritual, polity, medicine, and arts, the Agni Purana also preserves high philosophical instruction; this verse exemplifies its Vedāntic strand by defining Brahman in precise technical terms (beyond kārya-kāraṇa and beyond Virāṭ-identification).
Contemplating oneself as Brahman—free from causal limitation and cosmic/body identification—is presented as a direct means toward liberation (mokṣa) through the removal of ignorance (avidyā) and the cessation of ego-based bondage.