Adhyaya 368

Verse 1

इत्य् आग्नेये महापुराणे नित्यनैमित्तिकप्राकृतप्रलया नाम सप्तषष्ट्यधिकत्रिशततमो ऽध्यायः अथाष्टषष्ट्यधिकत्रिशततमो ऽध्यायः आत्यन्तिकलयगर्भोत्पत्तिनिरूपणं अग्निर् उवाच आत्यन्तिकं लयं वक्ष्ये ज्ञानादात्यन्तिको लयः आध्यात्मिकादिसन्तापं ज्ञात्वा स्वस्य विरागतः

Thus, in the Agni Mahāpurāṇa ends the 367th chapter entitled “The Nitya, Naimittika, and Prākṛta Dissolutions.” Now begins the 368th chapter: “Explanation of the Final Dissolution and the Arising of Hiraṇyagarbha.” Agni said: “I shall explain the final dissolution; the final dissolution comes through knowledge. Having understood the inner (spiritual) and other afflictions, one becomes dispassionate toward one’s own worldly identity and attachments.”

Verse 2

आध्यात्मिकस्तु सन्तापःशारीरो मानसो द्विधा शारीरो बहुभिर्भेदैस्तापो ऽसौ श्रूयतां द्विज

Affliction (santāpa) is of the inner (ādhyātmika) kind, and is twofold as bodily (śārīra) and mental (mānasa). That bodily affliction, however, is heard to be of many varieties—listen, O twice-born one.

Verse 3

त्यक्त्वा जीवो भोगदेहं गर्भमाप्रोति कर्मभिः आतिवाहिकसंज्ञस्तु देहो भवति वै द्विज

Having abandoned the body of experience (bhoga-deha, the gross enjoyer-body), the individual self (jīva), driven by its karmas, attains a womb; and then, O twice-born, a body known as the ātivāhika—the ‘transmitting/transporting’ subtle body—comes into being.

Verse 4

केवलं स मनुष्याणां मृत्युकाल उपस्थिते याम्यैः पुंभिर्मनुष्याणां तच्छरीरं द्विजोत्तमाः

O best of the twice-born, when the time of death comes upon human beings, only that subtle being is taken by the men of Yama; the human body is left behind.

Verse 5

नीयते याम्यमार्गेण प्राणिनां मुने ततः स्वर्याति नरकं स भ्रमेद्घटयन्त्रवत्

O sage, the embodied being is then led along Yama’s path; thereafter he reaches hell, whirling about like a water-wheel mechanism.

Verse 6

कर्मभूमिरियं ब्रह्मन् फलभूमिरसौ स्मृता यमो योनीश् च नरकं निरूपयति कर्मणा

O Brahman, this world is remembered as the field where actions are performed, while that world is remembered as the field where their fruits are experienced. By one’s own deeds, Yama—together with the Lord of yoni, the realm of embodied birth—determines one’s hell.

Verse 7

पूरणीयाश् च तेनैव यमञ्चैवानुपश्यतां वायुभूताः प्राणिनश् च गर्भन्ते प्राप्नुवन्ति हि

By that very ordinance, those who behold Yama are to be ‘fulfilled’—carried through to their destined completion; and living beings, having become vāyu-like, subtle as wind, indeed attain entry into the womb, that is, rebirth.

Verse 8

यमदूतैर् मनुष्यस्तु नीयते तञ्च पश्यति धर्मी च पूज्यते तेन पापिष्ठस्ताड्यते गृहे

A man is led away by Yama’s messengers, and he beholds that realm: the righteous is honoured there, while the most sinful is beaten within Yama’s abode.

Verse 9

शुभाशुभं कर्म तस्य चित्रगुप्तो निरूपयेत् बान्धवानामशौचे तु देहे खल्वातिवाहिके

For him, Citragupta should ascertain and record the auspicious and inauspicious deeds. And during the relatives’ period of aśauca (ritual impurity), the so‑called transit body (ātivāhika-deha) indeed remains connected with the departed.

Verse 10

तिष्ठन्नयति धर्मज्ञ दत्तपिण्डाशनन्ततः तन्यक्त्वा प्रेतदेहन्तु प्राप्यान्यं प्रेतलोकतः

O knower of dharma, after the piṇḍa-offering has been given and the departed has partaken of that food, he proceeds onward; then, having abandoned the preta-body (preta-deha), he obtains another (subtle) body in the realm of the departed (preta-loka).

Verse 11

वसेत् क्षुधा तृषा युक्त आमश्राद्धान्नभुङ्नरः आतिवाहिकेदेहात्तु प्रेतपिण्डैर् विना नरः

A man remains afflicted with hunger and thirst, subsisting on the undigested (raw) food of the śrāddha. And in his ātivāhika (transitional) body, a person cannot be sustained without the piṇḍas offered to the preta (preta-piṇḍa).

Verse 12

न हि मोक्षमवाप्नोति पिण्डांस्तत्रैव सो ऽश्रुते कृते सपिण्डीकरणे नरः संवत्सरात्परं

For he does not attain liberation (mokṣa) so long as the piṇḍa-offerings remain there (not yet assimilated into the ancestral line). But when the sapiṇḍīkaraṇa rite has been performed, the departed person—after the completion of a year—is admitted into the rank of the Pitṛs.

Verse 13

प्रेतलौकिके इति ख प्रेतदेहं समुतमृज्य भोगदेहं प्रपद्यते भोगदेहावुभौ प्रोक्तावशुभशुभसंज्ञितौ

In the teaching on the world of the departed (preta-loka): having cast off the preta-body (preta-deha), one attains the ‘enjoyment-body’ (bhoga-deha). The two enjoyment-bodies are described as being designated ‘inauspicious’ and ‘auspicious’.

Verse 14

भुक्त्वा तु भोगदेहेन कर्मबन्धान्निपात्यते तं देहं परतस्तस्माद्भक्षयन्ति निशाचराः

But after experiencing the fruits through the enjoyment-body (bhoga-deha), one is cast down from the bondage of karma; thereafter, that body is eaten by night-roaming beings (ghoulish spirits).

Verse 15

पापे तिष्ठति चेत् स्वर्गं तेन भुक्तं तदा द्विज तदा द्वितीयं गृह्णाति भोगदेहन्तु पापिनां

O twice-born, if sin still remains, then even heaven is exhausted by him; at that point the sinner assumes a second body—namely, a body for experiencing the results (bhoga-deha).

Verse 16

भुक्त्वा पापन्तु वै पश्चाद्येन भुक्तं त्रिपिष्टपं शुचीनां श्रीमतां गेहे स्वर्गभ्रष्टो ऽभिजायते

But after experiencing the results of sin, the one who once enjoyed the heaven called Tripiṣṭapa is reborn—having fallen from heaven—in the house of the pure and prosperous.

Verse 17

पुण्ये तिष्ठति चेत्पापन्तेन भुक्तं तदा भवेत् तस्मिन् सम्भक्षिते देहे शुभं गृह्णाति विग्रहम्

If sin is lodged within one’s merit, then that sin is indeed “consumed” by that merit—namely, by experiencing its painful fruition. When that body has thus been consumed by karmic ripening, the embodied being assumes a form (vigraha) endowed with auspiciousness.

Verse 18

कर्मण्यल्पावशेषे तु नरकादपि मुच्यते मुक्तस्तु नरकाद्याति तिर्यग्योनिं न संशयः

When only a small remainder of karma is left, one is released even from hell. But once released from hell, one proceeds to an animal womb (tiryag-yoni)—of this there is no doubt.

Verse 19

जीवः प्रविष्टो गर्भन्तु कलले ऽप्यत्र तिष्ठति घनीभूतं द्वितीये तु तृतीये ऽवयवास्ततः

The jīva, having entered the womb, remains there even in the kalala stage; in the second month it becomes condensed, and in the third month the limbs of the body arise thereafter.

Verse 20

चतुर्थे ऽस्थीनि त्वङ्मांसम्पञ्चमे रोमसम्भवः षष्ठे चेतो ऽथ जीवस्य दुःखं विन्दति सप्तमे

In the fourth month, bones, skin, and flesh form. In the fifth, body-hair arises. In the sixth, consciousness (cetas) manifests; and in the seventh, the embodied jīva comes to experience suffering.

Verse 21

जरायुवेष्टिते देहे मूर्ध्नि बद्धाञ्जलिस् तथा मध्ये क्लीवस्तु वामे स्त्री दक्षिणे पुरुषस्थितिः

When the fetal body is enveloped by the jarāyu (placenta), with the hands joined in añjali near the head, then: in the middle is the klība (neuter/impotent); on the left is the female; on the right is the male—such is their respective position.

Verse 22

तिष्ठत्युदरभागे तु पृष्ठस्याभिमुखस् तथा यस्यां तिष्ठत्यसौ योनौ तां स वेत्ति न संशयः

It remains in the abdominal region, with its back turned outward. Whatever womb (yoni) it abides in, that womb it knows—without doubt.

Verse 23

सर्वञ्च वेत्ति वृत्तान्तमारभ्य नरजम्मनः गच्छतीति क अन्धकारञ्च महतीं पीडां विन्दति मानवः

He comes to know the entire account from the very beginning of human birth; and the human mind proceeds toward hell. There, he encounters great darkness and experiences intense torment.

Verse 24

मातुराहारपीतन्तु सप्तमे मास्युपाश्नुते अष्टमे नवमे मासि भृशमुद्विजत तथा

In the seventh month, the fetus partakes of the mother’s consumed food and drink; and in the eighth and ninth months it likewise becomes greatly agitated.

Verse 25

व्यवाये पीडामाप्नोति मातुर्व्यायामके तथा व्याधिश् च व्याधितायां स्यान्मुहूर्तं शतवर्षवत्

From sexual intercourse one incurs affliction; likewise when the mother is over-exerted. And when one is ill, even a single muhūrta (brief span of time) feels like a hundred years.

Verse 26

सन्तप्यते कर्मभिस्तु कुरुते ऽथ मनोरथान् गर्भाद्विनिर्गतो ब्रह्मन् मोक्षज्ञानं करिष्यति

He is tormented by his own actions (karma), and then he pursues his desires; but once he has emerged from the womb, O Brahman, he will undertake the knowledge that leads to liberation (mokṣa).

Verse 27

सूतिवातैर् अधीभूतो निःसरेद्योनियन्त्रतः पीड्यमानो मासमात्रं करस्पर्शेन दुःखितः

Overpowered by the delivery-winds (labour forces), he comes out from the constriction of the birth-canal; being pressed and squeezed, for about a month he remains distressed even by the touch of a hand.

Verse 28

खशब्दात् क्षुद्रश्रोतांसि देहे श्रोत्रं विविक्तता श्वासोच्छासौ गतिर्वायोर्वक्रसंस्पर्शनं तथा

From the subtle element ākāśa (ether) and sound arise the minute bodily channels; in the body the organ of hearing and the property of separation (distinctness) are established. Likewise, inhalation and exhalation, the movement of vāyu (the vital wind), and oblique or curving contact (tactile sensation) are also produced.

Verse 29

अग्नेरूपं दर्शनं स्यादूष्मा पङ्क्तिश् च पित्तकं मेधा वर्णं बलं छाया तेजः शौर्यं शरीरके

In the body, Agni’s form is said to be vision; heat and the orderly arrangement of functions, as well as pitta; also intellect, complexion, strength, lustre, radiance, tejas, and valour within the embodied frame.

Verse 30

जलात्स्वेदश् च रसनन्देहे वै संप्रजायते क्लेदो वसा रसा तक्रं शुक्रमूत्रकफादिकं

From water arises sweat; and from rasa (the nutritive fluid) within the body are indeed produced moisture (kleda), fat (vasā), bodily essences (rasāḥ), a whey/buttermilk-like fluid (takra), as well as semen, urine, phlegm (kapha), and the like.

Verse 31

भूमेर्ध्राणं केशनखं गौरवं स्थिरतो ऽस्थितः मातृजानि मृदून्यत्र त्वङ्मांसहृदयानि च

From the earth-element arise the sense of smell, hair and nails, heaviness, and stability/steadfastness. Here, the soft tissues regarded as ‘maternal-born’—namely skin, flesh, and the heart—are also counted as earth-derived.

Verse 32

नाभिर्मज्जा शकृन्मेदः क्लेदान्यामाशयानि च पितृजानि शिरास्नायुशुक्रञ्चैवात्मजानि तु

The navel, marrow, feces, fat, moist bodily secretions, and the stomach (with related viscera) are said to be derived from the father; while the vessels/veins, sinews/ligaments, and semen are indeed said to be derived from the self (ātman).

Verse 33

कामक्रोधौ भयं हर्षो धर्माधर्मात्मता तथा आकृतिः स्वरवर्णौ तु मेहनाद्यं तथा च यत्

Desire and anger, fear and joy, and the disposition toward dharma or adharma; bodily form, voice and complexion, and also urination and the like—whatever such signs there are, they are to be known and examined.

Verse 34

श्वासोच्छासौ सनिर्वापौ वाह्यसंस्पर्शनमिति ञ नाभिर्मेडमिति ख , ञ च ???

Inhalation and exhalation, together with pacification or cooling (nirvāpa) and external tactile contact—thus it is stated (in one reading). In another reading it is said: “the navel and the genital region”; and yet another reading is also indicated, though the text here is corrupt/uncertain.

Verse 35

तामसानि तथाज्ञानं प्रमादालस्यतृट्क्षुधाः मोहमात्सर्यवैगुण्यशोकायासभयानि च

The tāmasika (dark, inertia-born) states are: ignorance, heedlessness, sloth, thirst and hunger, delusion, envy, moral defectiveness, grief, exhaustion, and fear as well.

Verse 36

कामक्रोधौ तथा शौर्यं यज्ञेप्सा बहुभाषिता अहङ्कारः परावज्ञा राजसानि महामुने

Desire and anger, likewise valor, eagerness for sacrifice, talkativeness, egoism (ahaṅkāra), and contempt for others—these, O great sage, are the marks of the rajasic nature.

Verse 37

धर्मेप्सा मोक्षकामित्वं परा भक्तिश् च केशवे दाक्षिण्यं व्यवसायित्वं सात्विकानि विनिर्दिशेत्

Desire for dharma, longing for liberation (mokṣa), supreme devotion (bhakti) to Keśava, generosity, and steadfast resolve—these are declared to be Sāttvika qualities.

Verse 38

चपलः क्रोधनो भीरुर्बहुभाषो कलिप्रियः स्वप्ने गगनगश् चैव बहुवातो नरो भवेत्

If a man is seen in a dream moving through the sky, he becomes fickle, prone to anger, fearful, overly talkative, fond of quarrels, and afflicted with an excess of vāta (wind-humour).

Verse 39

अकालपलितः क्रोर्धो महाप्राज्ञो रणप्रियः स्वप्ने च दीप्तिमत्प्रेक्षी बहुपित्तो नरो भवेत्

A man who turns grey before his time, is quick to anger, highly intelligent, fond of battle, and who in dreams beholds blazing radiance—such a person is said to be pitta-dominant (pitta-heavy in constitution).

Verse 40

स्थिरमित्रः स्थिरोत्साहः स्थिराङ्गो द्रविणान्वितः स्वप्ने जलसितालोकी बहुश्ले ष्मा नरो भवेत्

A man who, in a dream, beholds water that is white or pale-clear will have steadfast friends, steady resolve, a stable body, and wealth; and he is said to be one in whom śleṣman/kapha (the phlegm-humor) predominates.

Verse 41

रसस्तु प्राणिनां देहे जीवनं रुधिरं तथा लेपनञ्च तथा मांसमेधस्नेहकरन्तु तत्

In the bodies of living beings, rasa (the nutritive fluid) sustains life; it also becomes blood, provides coating and lubrication, and gives rise to both flesh and fat—thus producing unctuousness (sneha) as well.

Verse 42

धारणन्त्व् अस्थि मज्जा स्यात्पूरणं वीर्यवर्धनं शुक्रवीर्यकरं ह्य् ओजः प्राणकृज्जीवसंस्थितिः

Bone-marrow (majjā) sustains the bones and fills them with nourishment, increasing vigor. Ojas indeed generates semen and vitality; it produces prāṇa (the life-breath) and is the stable foundation of living existence.

Verse 43

ओजः शुक्रात् सारतरमापीतं हृदयोपगं षडङ्गशक्थिनी बाहुर्मूर्धा जठरमीरितं

Ojas is the most refined essence drawn from semen; it is taken up into the heart and abides there. It is said to pervade the whole body—its six limbs and extremities, the arms, the head, and the abdomen.

Verse 44

षट्त्वचा वाह्यतो यद्वदन्या रुधिरधारिका विलासधारिणी चान्या चतुर्थी कुण्डधारिणी

The skin has six layers. From the outer side inward: one layer is as described; another is the bearer of blood; another bears the vessels/channels; the fourth bears boil-like eruptions (kuṇḍa).

Verse 45

पञ्चमी विद्रधिस्थानं षष्ठी प्राणधरा मता कलासप्तमौ मांसधरा द्वितीया रक्तधारिणी

The fifth kalā is regarded as the seat of abscesses; the sixth is held to sustain prāṇa, the vital life-breath. The seventh kalā holds the flesh, and the second bears the blood.

Verse 46

यकृत्प्लीहाश्रया चान्या मेदोधरास्थिधारिणी मज्जाश्लेष्मपुरीषाणां धरा पक्वाशयस्थिता षष्ठी पित्तधरा शुक्रधरा शुक्राशयापरा

Another dharā is situated in the region of the liver and spleen; another supports fat and bone. The receptacle of marrow, phlegm, and feces is located in the large intestine (pakvāśaya). The sixth holds bile; and another holds semen, situated in the seminal reservoir (śukrāśaya).