Agni Purana — Avatara-lila, Shloka 9
Chapter 12 — श्रीहरिवंशवर्णनं (Śrī-Harivaṃśa-varṇana) | The Description of the Sacred Harivaṃśa
वारितोपि स देवक्या मृत्युर्गर्भोष्टमो मम श्रुत्वाशरीरिणीं वाचं मत्तो गर्भास्तु मारिताः
vāritopi sa devakyā mṛtyurgarbhoṣṭamo mama śrutvāśarīriṇīṃ vācaṃ matto garbhāstu māritāḥ
देवकी के रोकने पर भी उसने यह मानकर कि ‘देवकी का आठवाँ गर्भ ही मेरी मृत्यु है’, और अशरीरी वाणी सुनकर, देवकी से उत्पन्न गर्भों को मार डाला।
Agni (narrator) to Vasiṣṭha (listener), recounting the Kaṃsa–Devakī episode
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Avatara-Katha","secondary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","practical_application":"Moral-political lesson on how prophecy-fear and adharma lead to atrocities; used in discourse on rājasika-bhaya, cruelty, and the karmic consequences of harming innocents.","sutra_style":false}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Commentary","entry_title":"Kaṃsa’s Prophecy-Fear and the Killing of Devakī’s Embryos","lookup_keywords":["aśarīriṇī-vāc","aṣṭama-garbha","Kaṃsa-bhaya","garbha-hatyā","Devakī"],"quick_summary":"Despite Devakī’s restraint, Kaṃsa—fixated on the bodiless prophecy that her eighth would be his death—kills her offspring/embryos, illustrating the escalation of adharma driven by fear."}
Concept: Bhaya-born adharma (fear-driven unrighteousness) blinds discernment; attempts to control destiny through violence deepen pāpa and hasten downfall.
Application: In governance and personal life, avoid acting from paranoia; respond to uncertainty with dharma, counsel, and restraint rather than harm.
Khanda Section: Avataras / Krishna-Janma-Katha (Vaishnava narrative cycle)
Primary Rasa: karuṇa
Secondary Rasa: bhayānaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Devakī pleads to restrain Kaṃsa, but he remains obsessed with the bodiless prophecy about the eighth embryo and proceeds to kill her offspring—an emotionally heavy prison tableau.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, Devakī with raised pleading hands, Kaṃsa stern and unyielding, a spectral ‘aśarīriṇī vāc’ suggested as a floating inscription/light, somber palette with dramatic outlines.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, moral tableau: Devakī in sorrow, Kaṃsa in rigid royal stance, symbolic celestial voice motif above, gold work used sparingly to heighten the tragic contrast.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, didactic composition: Devakī pleading, Kaṃsa turning away, a visual emblem for ‘aśarīriṇī vāc’ (scroll/cloud), restrained emotion with fine detailing.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, intimate interior scene with expressive faces, Devakī’s supplication, Kaṃsa’s cold resolve, a subtle calligraphic cloud indicating the bodiless voice, meticulous architectural detail."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"somber","suggested_raga":"Darbari Kanada","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"contemplative"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: वारितोपि = वारितः + अपि; गर्भोष्टमो = गर्भः + अष्टमः; श्रुत्वाशरीरिणीं = श्रुत्वा + अशरीरिणीम्; गर्भास्तु = गर्भाः + तु
Related Themes: Agni Purana Avatara-khaṇḍa: prophecy context and birth narrative (12.5–12.8)
FAQs
No ritual/medical/weapon-vidyā is taught here; the verse conveys a Purāṇic narrative motif—prophecy (aśarīriṇī vāk) driving a ruler’s violent actions—used as a dharma-lesson on fear, adharma, and consequences.
It exemplifies the Agni Purāṇa’s breadth: alongside manuals of worship, polity, medicine, and poetics, it preserves avatāra narratives that transmit ethical instruction and theological context (here, the eighth-child prophecy central to Kṛṣṇa-kathā).
The verse highlights how acting from fear and ego—attempting to thwart destiny through violence—deepens adharma and karmic downfall; the bodiless proclamation underscores the inevitability of divine order (daiva) over tyrannical control.