Agni Purana — Agneya-vidya, Shloka 40
Explanation of the Vāsudeva and Related Mantras (वासुदेवादिमन्त्रनिरूपणम्)
अङ्गुष्ठादौ तले द्वौ च पादे जानुनि वै कटौ शिरःशिखरकट्याञ्च जानुपादादिषु न्यसेत्
aṅguṣṭhādau tale dvau ca pāde jānuni vai kaṭau śiraḥśikharakaṭyāñca jānupādādiṣu nyaset
अंगूठे से आरम्भ करके दोनों हथेलियों पर, तथा पैरों, घुटनों और कटि पर; और सिर, शिखा तथा नितम्बों पर भी—इस प्रकार घुटने, पाँव आदि अंगों में न्यास करे।
Lord Agni (instructing the sage Vasiṣṭha in ritual procedure)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Sandhi Resolution Notes: अङ्गुष्ठादौ = अङ्गुष्ठ-आदि (तत्पुरुष) + सप्तमी एकवचन; शिरःशिखरकट्याञ्च→शिरः शिखर कट्याम् च; जानुपादादिषु→जानु पाद आदि-षु; (ततः sandhi not present here).
FAQs
It teaches nyāsa: the systematic placement/assignment of mantras onto specific body parts (palms, feet, knees, waist/hips, head and śikhā) as part of mantra-pūjā and protective consecration (aṅga/kara/pāda-nyāsa).
Beyond mythology, it preserves practical liturgical technology—precise bodily locations and sequencing for mantra-installation—showing the Agni Purana’s coverage of applied ritual science alongside other domains like polity, medicine, and arts.
Nyāsa is intended to sacralize the practitioner’s body as a fit vessel for worship, strengthen mantra-efficacy, and provide ritual purification and protective merit by aligning speech, mind, and body with the invoked deity/power.