Agni Purana — Vastu-Pratishtha & Isana-kalpa, Shloka 2
Chapter 65 — सभास्थापनकथनं
Account of Establishing an Assembly-hall
स्वेच्छया तु सभां कृत्वा स्वेच्छया स्थापयेत् सुरान् तोयं समुत्सृजेदेवमिति ख, चिह्नितपुस्तकपाठः गोकुलं पाययेद् द्विजानिति ङ, चिह्नितपुस्तकपाठः चतुष्पथे ग्रामादौ च न शून्ये कारयेत् सभां
svecchayā tu sabhāṃ kṛtvā svecchayā sthāpayet surān toyaṃ samutsṛjedevamiti kha, cihnitapustakapāṭhaḥ gokulaṃ pāyayed dvijāniti ṅa, cihnitapustakapāṭhaḥ catuṣpathe grāmādau ca na śūnye kārayet sabhāṃ
Après avoir construit une salle d’assemblée selon ses moyens, qu’on y installe aussi les divinités selon ses moyens. Ensuite, qu’on accomplisse l’offrande/aspersion d’eau (rite de consécration). (Lecture variante : « qu’on donne de l’eau au troupeau de vaches (gokula) et aux deux-fois-nés ». ) La salle d’assemblée doit être édifiée à un carrefour de quatre voies ou à l’entrée/à la lisière du village, et non en un lieu désert et inhabité.
Lord Agni (instructing a sage interlocutor in the Agni Purana’s didactic narration)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: Settlement
Sandhi Resolution Notes: समुत्सृजेदेवम् = समुत्सृजेत् + एवम्; द्विजानिति = द्विजान् + इति; ग्रामादौ = ग्राम-आदौ.
FAQs
It teaches sabhā-nirmāṇa and prāṇa-pratiṣṭhā–style consecration elements: build the hall according to capacity, install deities, and perform a water rite (sprinkling/offering), with a variant emphasizing charitable watering of cows/community and twice-born.
It blends Vāstu (site-selection and civic placement) with ritual procedure (deity स्थापना and toya-rite) and social ethics (supporting dvijas and the pastoral community), showing the text’s practical coverage beyond mythology.
Proper placement and consecration sacralize a public institution; the water-rite and the variant charity to cows/dvijas indicate purification and merit (puṇya) through both correct ritual and public beneficence.