Agni Purana — Raja-dharma, Shloka 29

Chapter 226 — राजधर्माः

Rājadharma: Royal Duties and Daṇḍanīti

Devanagari script

अन्त्यजातिर्द्विजातिन्तु येनाङ्गेनापराध्नुयात् तदेव च्छेदयेत्तस्य क्षिप्रमेवाविचारयन्

Transliteration

antyajātirdvijātintu yenāṅgenāparādhnuyāt tadeva cchedayettasya kṣipramevāvicārayan

Translation

અંત્યજાતિનો માણસ દ્વિજ સામે જે અંગ વડે અપરાધ કરે, તે જ અંગ વિલંબ વિના તરત કાપી નાખવું જોઈએ.

Word by Word

• antyajātiḥ: a low-born person
• antyajātiḥ: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: antya + jāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Prathamā (1st), Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: 'antyā jātiḥ' (lowest caste)

• dvijātim: a twice-born (Brahmin etc.)
• dvijātim: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dvijāti (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Strīliṅga, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; tatpuruṣa: 'dvi-jāti' (twice-born)

• tu: but/indeed
• tu: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: tu (अव्यय)
• Form: Avadhāraṇa/viśeṣaṇa-nipāta (emphatic/contrast particle)

• yena: by which
• yena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: yad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga/Napuṃsaka, Tṛtīyā vibhakti (3rd/तृतीया), Ekavacana; relative pronoun

• aṅgena: limb
• aṅgena: Karaṇa (करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: aṅga (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Tṛtīyā (3rd), Ekavacana

• aparādhnuyāt: should offend/commit an offence
• aparādhnuyāt: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: apa + rādh (धातु)
• Form: Vidhiliṅ (विधिलिङ्) optative, Parasmaipada, Prathama puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana

• tat: that (limb)
• tat: Karma (कर्म)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Napुंसकलिङ्ग, Dvitīyā (2nd), Ekavacana; demonstrative pronoun

• eva: only/indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avadhāraṇa-nipāta (emphatic particle)

• cchedayet: should cut off
• cchedayet: Kriyā (क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: chid (धातु)
• Form: Vidhiliṅ optative, Parasmaipada, Prathama puruṣa (3rd), Ekavacana; causative sense not required: 'should cut off'

• tasya: of him
• tasya: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tad (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Puṃliṅga, Ṣaṣṭhī (6th), Ekavacana; pronoun

• kṣipram: quickly
• kṣipram: Kriyāviśeṣaṇa (क्रियाविशेषण)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: kṣipra (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Kriyā-viśeṣaṇa avyaya (adverb)

• eva: indeed
• eva: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: eva (अव्यय)
• Form: Avadhāraṇa-nipāta

• avicārayan: not considering (without deliberation)
• avicārayan: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Verb
• Root: a + vi + cāraya (धातु: car/causative)
• Form: Kṛdanta: śatṛ-pratyaya (शतृ), vartamāna-kṛdanta (present active participle), Puṃliṅga, Prathamā, Ekavacana; 'not deliberating'

Speaker

Lord Agni (narrating dharma and dandaniti to the sage Vashistha)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: raudra

Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: antyajātirdvijātintu → antyajātiḥ + dvijātim + tu; yenāṅgenāparādhnuyāt → yena + aṅgena + aparādhnuyāt; tadeva → tat + eva; cchedayet (t + ch → cch); kṣipramevāvicārayan → kṣipram + eva + avicārayan.

Characters & Entities

• Agni Purana
• antyajati
• dvija

FAQs

What technical or ritual knowledge (Vidya) is imparted in this verse?

It teaches dandaniti (penal governance): a principle of limb-for-limb corporal punishment when a bodily offence is committed against a dvija.

How does this verse contribute to the 'Encyclopedic' nature of the Agni Purana?

Beyond mythology, the Agni Purana compiles practical statecraft and legal norms; this verse is part of its dharmashastra-style material on crime and punishment (rajadharma).

What is the spiritual or karmic significance of this specific instruction?

It frames punishment as a dharmic instrument of social order and deterrence, implying that wrongdoing against protected classes brings immediate, severe karmic and social consequences enforced through the king’s justice.