Agni Purana — Vastu-Pratishtha & Isana-kalpa, Shloka 4
अध्याय ७३: सूर्यपूजाविधिः
Sūrya-pūjā-vidhi — The Procedure for Sun-Worship
द्वारि दक्षे वामपार्श्वे ईशाने अं गणाय च अग्नौ गुरुं पीठमध्ये प्रभूतं चासनं यजेत्
dvāri dakṣe vāmapārśve īśāne aṃ gaṇāya ca agnau guruṃ pīṭhamadhye prabhūtaṃ cāsanaṃ yajet
À la porte, à droite, à gauche et au nord-est (Īśāna), on doit vénérer Gaṇeśa avec la syllabe « aṃ »; dans le feu (agni), on vénère le Guru; et au milieu du piédestal (pīṭha), on vénère le Puissant avec son siège (āsana).
Lord Agni (in dialogue tradition of the Agni Purāṇa, teaching ritual procedure)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Vastu","secondary_vidya":"Puja-vidhi","practical_application":"Spatial deployment of deities in worship: assign Gaṇeśa at specified liminal points (doorway/right/left/NE) with bīja ‘aṃ’, worship Guru at the fire-altar, and install the main deity and āsana at the pīṭha center.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Procedure","entry_title":"Pūjā Spatial Layout: Doorway/Īśāna Gaṇeśa, Agni-sthāna Guru, Pīṭha-madhya Deity with Āsana","lookup_keywords":["īśāna","dvāra","gaṇeśa aṃ","guru agni","pīṭha-madhya"],"quick_summary":"The verse prescribes where to place and worship key powers in a pūjā-maṇḍala: Gaṇeśa at threshold/NE, Guru in the fire locus, and the principal deity enthroned at the pedestal’s center."}
Concept: Ritual space as a mapped cosmos: correct placement (sthāna) and sequence (krama) are themselves carriers of efficacy (siddhi) and obstacle-removal.
Application: When setting up a home/temple pūjā, consciously mark threshold and NE for Gaṇeśa, keep the fire/diya locus for Guru remembrance, and stabilize attention by centering the main deity on a defined āsana.
Khanda Section: Puja-vidhi (Mandala/Nyasa and Deva-puja arrangement)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Type: Ritual-space topology
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A shrine layout diagram comes to life: at the doorway and NE corner sits Gaṇeśa; near the fire altar the Guru is honored; at the center of the pedestal the main deity is enthroned on an āsana, forming a clear mandala of placements.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: temple interior with clear spatial cues—doorway, NE corner, central pīṭha; Gaṇeśa at the threshold with modest halo; a small agni-kunda with Guru worship; central deity seated on ornate āsana; symmetrical sacred geometry.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central enthroned deity on jeweled āsana with gold leaf; Gaṇeśa at the doorway corner with gold halo; agni altar with Guru’s padukā or seated Guru; rich architectural frame and heavy ornamentation.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: instructional floor-plan style painting—labeled positions (dvāra right/left, īśāna, agni, pīṭha-madhya); figures rendered delicately; emphasis on correct placement and sequence.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature: palace-shrine room with precise architecture; Gaṇeśa near the entrance, a small fire altar with Guru reverence, and central deity on a pedestal; fine detailing of carpets, vessels, and spatial depth."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Shuddha Saveri","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: ‘प्रभूतं चासनं’ = प्रभूतम् + च + आसनम् (म् + च; च + आ). स्थानवाचक-सप्तम्यः: द्वारि, दक्षे, वामपार्श्वे, ईशाने, अग्नौ, पीठमध्ये।
Related Themes: Agni Purana pūjā-maṇḍala and pīṭha/āsana discussions (where present); Agni Purana Gaṇeśa-pūjā preliminaries in ritual chapters (where present)
FAQs
It gives a placement-based pūjā sequence: worship Gaṇeśa with the bīja “aṁ” at specified loci (doorway/right/left/north-east), worship the Guru at the fire-altar, and worship the central deity on the pīṭha together with the āsana offering.
It preserves practical liturgical engineering—directional (dik) placement, bīja-mantra usage, altar/pedestal terminology (agni, pīṭha), and ordered worship—showing the text’s coverage of temple/household ritual procedure alongside its many other disciplines.
Correctly placing and honoring Gaṇeśa (obstacle-removal), the Guru (lineage authority), and the central deity with the āsana offering is taught as a way to ensure ritual completeness, purity, and unobstructed fruition of the worship.