Agni Purana — Agneya-vidya, Shloka 45

Chapter 31 — मार्जनविधानं

The Procedure of Mārjana / Purificatory Sprinkling

Devanagari script

यथा यज्ञेश्वरो विष्णुर्देवेष्वपि हि गीयते सत्येन तेन सकलं यन्मयोक्तं तथास्तु तत्

Transliteration

yathā yajñeśvaro viṣṇurdeveṣvapi hi gīyate satyena tena sakalaṃ yanmayoktaṃ tathāstu tat

Translation

So wie Viṣṇu — selbst unter den Göttern — als der Herr des Opfers (yajña) besungen wird, so möge kraft eben dieser Wahrheit alles, was ich gesprochen habe, genau so in Erfüllung gehen.

Word by Word

• yathā: just as
• yathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connecting)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: yathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; conjunction/adverb (यथा = ‘as/just as’)

• yajña-īśvaraḥ: the lord of sacrifice
• yajña-īśvaraḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yajña (प्रातिपदिक) + īśvara (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा/1st), Singular; षष्ठी-तत्पुरुष (‘lord of sacrifice’)

• viṣṇuḥ: Viṣṇu
• viṣṇuḥ: Karta (कर्ता/subject; apposition)
• Type: Noun
• Root: viṣṇu (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (प्रथमा/1st), Singular

• deveṣu: among the gods
• deveṣu: Adhikaraṇa (अधिकरण/locative)
• Type: Noun
• Root: deva (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Locative (सप्तमी/7th), Plural

• api: also/even
• api: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: api (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; particle (अपि = ‘also/even’)

• hi: indeed
• hi: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/particle)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: hi (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; emphatic particle (हि)

• gīyate: is sung/praised
• gīyate: Kriya (क्रिया/predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: gai (धाातु)
• Form: Present tense (लट्), Passive voice (कर्मणि), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• satyena: by truth
• satyena: Karaṇa (करण/instrument/means)
• Type: Noun
• Root: satya (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Instrumental (तृतीया/3rd), Singular

• tena: by that/therefore
• tena: Karaṇa (करण/instrument; ‘therefore/by that’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine/Neuter, Instrumental (तृतीया/3rd), Singular; pronoun

• sakalam: entire/whole
• sakalam: Karma (कर्म/object)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: sakala (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Accusative (द्वितीया/2nd), Singular; adjective qualifying ‘tat/uktam’ sense

• yat: whatever/that which
• yat: Karma (कर्म/object; correlating with ‘tat’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative (प्रथमा/1st or द्वितीया/2nd), Singular; relative pronoun

• mayā: by me
• mayā: Karta (कर्ता/agent in passive sense)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Instrumental (तृतीया/3rd), Singular; 1st person pronoun

• uktam: said/spoken
• uktam: Kriya (क्रिया; participial predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: vac (धातु) + kta (कृत्)
• Form: Past passive participle (क्त/PPP), Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; agrees with ‘yat/sakalam’

• tathā: thus/so
• tathā: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/adverbial)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tathā (अव्यय)
• Form: Avyaya; adverb (तथा = ‘so/thus’)

• astu: let it be
• astu: Kriya (क्रिया/predicate)
• Type: Verb
• Root: as (धातु)
• Form: Imperative/benedictive sense (लोट्), 3rd person (प्रथमपुरुष), Singular (एकवचन)

• tat: that
• tat: Karta (कर्ता/subject of ‘astu’)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (प्रथमा/1st), Singular; correlative pronoun

Speaker

Lord Agni (narrator of the Agni Purana, concluding with a satya-vacana style affirmation)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: śānta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: viṣṇur → viṣṇuḥ; deveṣvapi → deveṣu api; yanmayoktaṃ → yat mayā uktam; tathāstu → tathā astu.

Characters & Entities

• Vishnu
• Yajna (sacrifice)
• Devas

FAQs

What technical or ritual knowledge (Vidya) is imparted in this verse?

It teaches a satya-vacana (truth-affirmation) closure: invoking an acknowledged truth (Viṣṇu as Yajñeśvara) to seal and efficaciously confirm the preceding ritual teaching or statement—functionally akin to a ritual ‘may it be fulfilled’ formula.

How does this verse contribute to the 'Encyclopedic' nature of the Agni Purana?

Beyond listing rites, the Agni Purana preserves practical liturgical devices—like concluding truth-acts used to validate prayers, vows, and ritual recitations—showing not only doctrine but also the operational language of ritual performance.

What is the spiritual or karmic significance of this specific instruction?

A satya-vacana is traditionally held to strengthen the merit and efficacy of a rite: by aligning speech with truth, the practitioner’s intention is purified and the stated outcome is invoked to manifest without obstruction.