Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 67
Srāvādya-śauca
Impurity due to bodily discharge and allied causes
मृतके सूतके वापि रात्रिमध्ये ऽन्यदापतेत् तच्छेषेणैव सुद्ध्येरन् रात्रिशेषे द्व्यहाधिकात्
mṛtake sūtake vāpi rātrimadhye 'nyadāpatet taccheṣeṇaiva suddhyeran rātriśeṣe dvyahādhikāt
Wenn während der Todes-Unreinheit (mṛtaka) oder der Geburts-Unreinheit (sūtaka) ein weiteres gleichartiges Ereignis mitten in der Nacht eintritt, wird man rein, indem man nur den verbleibenden Teil derselben Nacht zählt; tritt es jedoch im letzten Teil der Nacht ein, ist die Reinigung unter Hinzufügung von zwei Tagen zu beobachten.
Lord Agni (in discourse to Sage Vasiṣṭha, as the standard Agni Purana dialogue frame)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Jyotisha","practical_application":"Computing purification periods when a second birth/death event occurs at night, using time-of-night rules (midnight vs latter part) and day-count adjustments.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Procedure","entry_title":"Night-time occurrence rule in mṛtaka/sūtaka: remainder-of-night vs +2 days","lookup_keywords":["rātri-madhya","rātri-śeṣa","ashaucha counting","mṛtaka sūtaka","two-day addition"],"quick_summary":"If a second event occurs at midnight during ashaucha, purification is by counting only the remaining part of that night; if it occurs in the latter part of the night, add two days to the observance."}
Concept: Ritual law is sensitive to kāla (time); liminal periods like night segments alter the counting of observances.
Application: Priests/householders adjust ashaucha end-dates for eligibility in rites, offerings, and community participation based on when the second event occurs at night.
Khanda Section: Dharma-shastra (Ashauca & Shuddhi: impurity and purification rules)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A night sky split into segments (midnight vs late night) above a household; a priest marks a ledger showing ‘remainder of night’ in one case and ‘+2 days’ in the other.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, stylized night sky with moon and star bands divided into segments, priest with palm-leaf ledger, two panels: ‘rātri-madhya’ remainder-only and ‘rātri-śeṣa’ plus-two-days, traditional flat composition","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, ornate gold border, two gold-framed vignettes under a moonlit arch: midnight case and late-night case, priest marking dates, gold highlights on the moon and ledger","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, instructional chart-like composition with a segmented night arc, arrows to ‘śeṣa-rātri’ and ‘dvya-ha-adhika’, clean labels, calm domestic background","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, nocturnal courtyard with lantern, astrologer-priest noting time, sky gradient showing midnight and late-night, marginal annotation indicating remainder vs +2 days"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: रात्रिमध्ये 'न्यदापतेत् = रात्रि-मध्ये + अन्यत् + आपतेत् (’ = elision of initial a- after vowel); तच्छेषेणैव = तत्-शेषेण + एव; रात्रिशेषे = रात्रि-शेषे; द्व्यहाधिकात् = द्वि-अह-अधिकात्
Related Themes: Agni Purana 158.63-66 (overlap, precedence, hierarchy)
FAQs
It gives a technical rule for calculating purification time (śuddhi) when a second ashauca-triggering event occurs during an ongoing mṛtaka/sūtaka period, distinguishing mid-night vs late-night occurrence.
Beyond mythology, the Agni Purana preserves practical dharma-shastra style regulations—timekeeping, social ritual law, and precise edge-cases—showing its coverage of lived religious-legal practice.
By prescribing exact purification periods, it aims to restore ritual eligibility and social-religious order (adhikāra) after impurity, ensuring rites are performed at the proper time and in the proper state of purity.