Agni Purana — Vyavahara, Shloka 17
Chapter 255: दायविभागकथनम्
On the Division of Inheritance
क्षतायामक्षतायां वा जातः पौनर्भवः सुतः दद्यान्माता पिता वा यं स पुत्री दत्तको भवेत्
kṣatāyāmakṣatāyāṃ vā jātaḥ paunarbhavaḥ sutaḥ dadyānmātā pitā vā yaṃ sa putrī dattako bhavet
ક્ષતા કે અક્ષતા—પુનર્વિવાહિત સ્ત્રીમાંથી જન્મેલો પુત્ર ‘પૌનર્ભવ’ કહેવાય છે. અને જેને માતા અથવા પિતા દત્તકરૂપે આપે, તે ‘પુત્રી-દત્તક’ પુત્ર બને છે.
Lord Agni (teaching dharma/lineage rules to sage Vasiṣṭha in the Agni Purana’s discourse style)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Arthashastra","practical_application":"Classifying kinds of sons for purposes of lineage continuity, adoption validity, and inheritance rights in family law and royal courts.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Definition","entry_title":"Paunarbhava and Putrī-dattaka (daughter-given adopted son)","lookup_keywords":["paunarbhava","putrī-dattaka","punarbhū","adoption","putra-bheda"],"quick_summary":"Defines the paunarbhava son (born of a remarried woman) and the putrī-dattaka (a son given by mother or father, linked to a daughter’s line), for determining filial status in rites and property."}
Concept: Putra-bheda (legal categories of sonship) as a dharmic mechanism to preserve lineage, rites, and orderly succession.
Application: Use these definitions in adjudicating adoption/sonship disputes and determining who may be treated as a son for ritual and inheritance.
Khanda Section: Dharma-shastra / Putra-prakarana (Types of sons, adoption and lineage law)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A formal household scene where a remarried woman with a child is acknowledged as paunarbhava, and a ceremonial act of giving a child in adoption (putrī-dattaka) is performed before elders and witnesses.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style, interior of a traditional house with oil lamps, elders seated, mother and father presenting a child to another family, palm-leaf documents, muted earth pigments, dignified legal-ritual mood.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, adoption-giving ceremony with ornate jewelry and textiles, gold-leaf highlights on vessels and ornaments, elders blessing the child, symmetrical composition, rich reds and greens.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, instructional depiction of adoption procedure: parties seated in rows, scribe with stylus and palm-leaf, clear gestures of ‘giving’, soft shading, fine linework.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, courtly domestic legal scene with detailed textiles, a qazi-like arbiter and witnesses, the child being handed over, architectural arches, delicate faces and borders."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: क्षतायामक्षतायां → क्षतायाम् + अक्षतायाम्; दद्यान्माता → दद्यात् + माता; दत्तको → दत्तकः (before voiced consonant sandhi in recitation).
Related Themes: Agni Purana 255 (Putra-prakaraṇa / putra-bheda sequence)
FAQs
It gives dharma-legal classifications of filiation: defining the paunarbhava son (born of a remarried woman) and the putrī-dattaka category (a son formally given in adoption by mother or father, described under the ‘daughter-given’ adoption type).
Beyond myth and ritual, the Agni Purana preserves dharma-shastra material—precise social-legal taxonomies of sons and adoption—useful for inheritance, lineage continuity, and household law, reflecting its wide-ranging, encyclopedic scope.
By prescribing recognized categories for birth and adoption, it supports dharmic order (varṇa-āśrama household stability) and legitimizes lineage duties like śrāddha and ancestral rites, which are traditionally tied to merit and familial obligation.