Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 30
Srāvādya-śauca
Impurity due to bodily discharge and allied causes
सपिण्डता तु पुरुषे सप्तमे विनिवर्तते समानोदकभावस्तु निवर्तेताचतुर्दशात्
sapiṇḍatā tu puruṣe saptame vinivartate samānodakabhāvastu nivartetācaturdaśāt
La parenté sapinda, quant à la lignée masculine, cesse à la septième génération ; mais l’état de samānodaka (partage de la même lignée d’offrande d’eau funéraire) cesse après la quatorzième génération.
Lord Agni (teaching to sage Vasiṣṭha in the Agni Purana’s dharma-vidhi discourse)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Arthashastra","practical_application":"Defines legal-ritual boundaries of kinship for śrāddha eligibility, inheritance/obligation logic, and impurity rules by specifying where sapinda and samānodaka relations terminate.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Definition","entry_title":"Limits of Sapinda and Samānodaka Relationship (7th and 14th Generation)","lookup_keywords":["sapinda","samānodaka","śrāddha","generation limit","kinship"],"quick_summary":"Sapinda relation in the male line ends at the seventh generation; the broader funeral-water lineage (samānodaka) ends after the fourteenth—used to determine ritual and social duties."}
Concept: Dharma formalizes relational proximity through definitional cutoffs to regulate obligation and purity.
Application: Apply these cutoffs when deciding who must observe aśauca, who offers piṇḍa/udaka, and who counts as close kin in ritual/legal contexts.
Khanda Section: Dharma-shastra (Śrāddha, Sapinda & Udaka relations)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A genealogical tree is depicted with marked cutoffs: sapinda ending at the 7th ancestor/descendant node, and samānodaka extending to the 14th, alongside a śrāddha offering scene with piṇḍa and water libations.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, stylized lineage tree behind a śrāddha altar, seven nodes highlighted in one color and fourteen in another, priest offering udaka, restrained palette, symbolic clarity.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, central śrāddha altar with piṇḍas, flanking decorative genealogical panels with gold-highlighted 7 and 14 markers, ornate frame, ritual solemnity.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style, instructional diagram aesthetic: clean lineage chart with Sanskrit labels ‘sapinda’ and ‘samānodaka’, small vignette of udaka offering, fine brushwork.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, courtly scribe illustrating a family register, alongside a riverbank udaka offering scene, intricate textiles and calligraphic marginalia."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Kalyani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: samānodakabhāvastu = samāna-udaka-bhāvaḥ + tu; nivartetācaturdaśāt = nivarteta + ā + caturdaśāt (ā as limit-marker).
Related Themes: Agni Purana 158 (sapinda/udaka relations; śrāddha context)
FAQs
It defines the precise generational limits for two ritual-legal kinship categories—sapinda (up to the 7th in the male line) and samānodaka (up to the 14th)—used to determine eligibility and scope in śrāddha and related rites.
By codifying dharma-style technical definitions (kinship degrees tied to funerary offerings), it shows the Agni Purana functioning like a reference manual that preserves ritual law, social-legal categories, and procedural boundaries alongside its many other disciplines.
Correctly knowing kinship limits helps perform ancestral offerings for the proper circle of relations, supporting orderly śrāddha practice and the intended merit (puṇya) and purification associated with honoring lineage obligations.