Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 40
Chapter 168 — महापातकादिकथनम्
Exposition of Great Sins and Related Topics
अपात्रीकरणं ज्ञेयमसत्यस्य च भाषणं कृमिकीटवयोहत्या मद्यानुगतभोजनं
apātrīkaraṇaṃ jñeyamasatyasya ca bhāṣaṇaṃ kṛmikīṭavayohatyā madyānugatabhojanaṃ
Debe entenderse como actos de demérito: volver indigno a quien es digno (de recibir dones/ritos), decir falsedades, matar gusanos e insectos (así como) aves, y comer alimentos vinculados al licor embriagante.
Lord Agni (teaching in the Agni Purana’s dharma-prāyaścitta discourse)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Samanya","practical_application":"Enumerates demerit-causing acts (false speech, harming small creatures, liquor-associated food) used to determine impurity and need for expiation.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"List","entry_title":"Apātrīkaraṇa-ādi pāpa (demerit acts: disqualifying, lying, killing small beings, liquor-tainted food)","lookup_keywords":["apātrīkaraṇa","anṛta-bhāṣaṇa","kṛmi-kīṭa-hiṃsā","vayaḥ-hatyā","madya-anugata-bhojana"],"quick_summary":"Treats disqualifying the worthy, lying, killing even small life-forms, and consuming liquor-connected food as sinful/defiling, prompting restraint and (where prescribed) prāyaścitta."}
Concept: Satya and ahiṃsā extend to speech and to minute life; intoxication-associated consumption is treated as moral-ritual contamination.
Application: Encourages truthfulness, careful conduct to avoid inadvertent killing, and abstention from intoxicant-linked food in ritual/social contexts.
Khanda Section: Dharma-shastra / Prāyaścitta and Aśauca (Sin, impurity, and expiation)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A teacher warns against lying and harm; small creatures (worms/insects) shown protected; a vessel of liquor and food set aside as impure; a worthy person being wrongly disqualified is depicted as a moral wrong.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, rishi with raised hand in admonition, tiny insects rendered symbolically near a leaf, a covered pot marked as madya, a devotee turned away unjustly; strong outlines, didactic tone.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, central dharma-teacher with gold work, side motifs: speech scroll (satya), small life-forms, and a forbidden liquor pot; ornate borders emphasizing prohibition.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style, instructional panels: truthful speech vs false speech, careful sweeping to avoid insects, food near liquor marked as to be avoided; fine line and gentle colors.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, intimate interior scene: scholar instructing, a servant presenting food and a wine vessel pushed aside, detailed naturalistic insects/birds in margins, moral narrative."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"contemplative"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: jñeyam asatyasya = jñeyam asatyasya; kṛmikīṭavayohatyā = kṛmi-kīṭa-vayo-hatyā; madyānugatabhojanam = madya-anugata-bhojanam.
Related Themes: Agni Purana 168 (pāpa classifications); Agni Purana 170 (expiations for falsehood/intoxicants)
FAQs
It enumerates specific pāpa/impurity-causing actions—ritual disqualification of a recipient (apātrīkaraṇa), false speech, harm to small creatures/birds, and consumption of food associated with alcohol—used in dharma and prāyaścitta assessment.
Alongside rituals and theology, the Agni Purana compiles dharma-legal/ethical norms; this verse functions like a concise dharma-shastra list defining actionable moral faults relevant to social rites, purity, and expiation.
It frames these behaviors as karmically harmful—especially untruth, harm (hiṃsā) to living beings, and intoxicant-linked impurity—thereby warning that such acts obstruct merit and require restraint and (elsewhere) expiation.