Agni Purana — Ayurveda, Shloka 9
Pañcāṅga-Rudra-vidhāna
The Fivefold Rudra Rite
असौ यमो भवित्रीन्द्रः पुरुलिङ्गोक्तदेवताः पङ्क्तिच्छन्दो ऽथ मर्माणि त्वपलिङ्गोक्तदेवताः
asau yamo bhavitrīndraḥ puruliṅgoktadevatāḥ paṅkticchando 'tha marmāṇi tvapaliṅgoktadevatāḥ
‘असौ’ से आरम्भ मंत्र के देवता यम हैं; ‘भवित्री’ के देवता इन्द्र हैं। जहाँ देवता पुल्लिङ्ग में कही गई है वहाँ छन्द पङ्क्ति है; फिर मर्मों और त्वचा के लिए नपुंसकलिङ्ग में कही गई देवताएँ मानी जाएँ।
Lord Agni (instructing sage Vasiṣṭha, in the standard Agni Purana dialogue frame)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Chandas & Devata-Nyasa (Vedic Meter/Deity Attribution in Mantra-vidhi)","secondary_vidya":"Mantra","practical_application":"Used for mantra-viniyoga and nyāsa-like attribution: mapping specific mantra incipits to deities, and using grammatical gender cues (liṅga) to decide meter/deity allocation for body-related segments.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Commentary","entry_title":"Incipit-based devatā mapping; liṅga-based rules (Paṅkti; napuṃsaka for marmāṇi/tvac)","lookup_keywords":["asau mantra Yama","bhavitrī Indra","puru-liṅga Paṅkti","napuṃsaka-liṅga devatā","marmāṇi tvac"],"quick_summary":"The verse assigns Yama to the ‘asau’ mantra and Indra to ‘bhavitrī’; it further gives a rule that masculine-stated devatā passages take Paṅkti meter, while neuter-stated devatā passages apply to marmāṇi and tvac segments."}
Concept: Mantra practice integrates language (liṅga), meter (chandas), deity (devatā), and the practitioner’s body (marmāṇi/tvac) into a single applied system.
Application: In recitation/nyāsa, use incipits to select devatā, and apply liṅga cues to keep the correct chandas and body-locus assignments.
Khanda Section: Chandas & Devata-Nyasa (Vedic Meter/Deity Attribution in Mantra-vidhi)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: śānta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A practitioner performs nyāsa: touching marma points and the skin while a teacher indicates that neuter-gender deity terms govern marmāṇi/tvac, and a manuscript margin notes ‘asau—Yama’, ‘bhavitrī—Indra’, ‘Paṅkti’.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, ritual practitioner with hand on chest/limbs marking marmāṇi, palm-leaf text showing ‘Yama’ and ‘Indra’, subdued sacred palette, schematic body-loci motifs","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, central figure in nyāsa posture, gold haloed emblems for Yama (daṇḍa) and Indra (vajra) on either side, ornate script panel reading ‘Paṅkti’","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style, instructional anatomy-like diagram of marma points and skin boundary, annotations for napuṃsaka-liṅga and Paṅkti meter, clean lines and clarity","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, scholar-physician and priest discussing a body chart, fine detailing of labeled points ‘marmāṇi’ and ‘tvac’, calligraphic notes ‘asau—Yama’, ‘bhavitrī—Indra’"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: भवित्रीन्द्रः = भवित्री + इन्द्रः (ई + इ → ई); पुरुलिङ्गोक्तदेवताः = पुरु + लिङ्ग + उक्त + देवताः; पङ्क्तिच्छन्दो = पङ्क्ति + छन्दः (इ + छ → इच्छ); छन्दो ऽथ = छन्दः + अथ (विसर्गः + अ → ओऽ); त्वपलिङ्गोक्तदेवताः = तु + अपलिङ्गोक्तदेवताः (उ + अ → व/अल्प-परिवर्तन लेखन).
Related Themes: Agni Purana 295 (devatā/chandas rules); Agni Purana mantra-vidhi/nyāsa discussions in Rudra-related sections nearby
FAQs
It gives a rule-set for mantra application: identifying the presiding deity (devatā) and the meter (chandas) based on the mantra’s opening word and grammatical gender, and linking specific body loci (marmas, skin) to the corresponding devatās for nyāsa-style ritual placement.
It shows the text operating like a ritual-technical handbook—combining Sanskrit grammar (liṅga/gender), Vedic prosody (chandas), and embodied ritual practice (nyāsa onto marmas/skin), illustrating how the Agni Purana compiles diverse disciplines into actionable instructions.
Correct devatā–chandas identification and properly performed nyāsa are traditionally held to ensure mantra efficacy, protect the practitioner from misapplication, and align the body-mind with the intended deity-force for purification and successful ritual outcomes.