Agni Purana — Yoga & Brahma-vidya, Shloka 23
Chapter 369 — शरीरावयवाः
The Limbs/Organs and Constituents of the Body
द्वे करे द्वे च चरणे चतस्रः पृष्ठतो गले देहे पादादिशीर्षान्ते जालानि चैव षोडश
dve kare dve ca caraṇe catasraḥ pṛṣṭhato gale dehe pādādiśīrṣānte jālāni caiva ṣoḍaśa
हाथों में दो और पैरों में दो ‘जाल’ हैं; पीठ और कंठ में चार। इस प्रकार देह में—पैरों से लेकर सिर के अंत तक—कुल सोलह जाल (जालिकाएँ/जाल-समूह) हैं।
Lord Agni (in dialogue tradition, instructing Sage Vasiṣṭha)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Tantra","secondary_vidya":"Ayurveda","practical_application":"Subtle-body mapping for yogic practice and marma-aware body contemplation; used to locate plexus-like ‘networks’ for prāṇa-dhāraṇā and for avoiding injury to vital regions.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"List","entry_title":"Ṣoḍaśa Jāla (Sixteen bodily networks/plexuses)","lookup_keywords":["jāla","ṣoḍaśa","nāḍī-cakra","granthi","marma"],"quick_summary":"Enumerates sixteen ‘jālas’ distributed in hands, feet, back, throat, and along the body from feet to head—serving as a schematic for subtle/anatomical network points used in yoga-tantric body-mapping."}
Concept: Deha as a mapped field of interlinked ‘networks’ (jāla) supporting prāṇa-flow and yogic attention.
Application: Use the enumeration as a dhāraṇā aid: scan from feet to head, stabilizing attention at hands/feet/back/throat networks during prāṇāyāma or nyāsa-like contemplation.
Khanda Section: Tantra & Yoga (Subtle Body / Nāḍī–Cakra–Granthi / Marma-style anatomical enumeration)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A yogic anatomical diagram-like depiction of the human body with highlighted network points in hands, feet, back, throat, and a vertical mapping from feet to head totaling sixteen jālas.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala temple mural style, frontal standing yogic figure, ochre-red background, stylized anatomy with lotus-like nodes at hands, feet, back, throat, and a vertical chain of subtle points, clean linework, traditional ornaments minimal, didactic labels implied.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, central standing figure as a symbolic ‘deha-maṇḍala’, gold-leaf halos around hands/feet/throat nodes, embossed decorative borders, sixteen small gilded medallions marking jālas along the body axis.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, instructional chart aesthetic, soft colors, precise placement of sixteen nodes, hands and feet emphasized, back and throat marked, minimal ornamentation, clear symmetry.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, physician-yogi presenting a body-map scroll, detailed but delicate rendering of a standing figure with sixteen marked points, fine calligraphic annotations, courtly palette and margins."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Ahir Bhairav","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: pādādiśīrṣānte = pāda-ādi-śīrṣa-ante (समास/सन्धि); caiva = ca + eva.
Related Themes: Agni Purana 369 (nāḍī–cakra–granthi / śarīra-saṅkhyā context)
FAQs
It gives a technical enumeration of bodily ‘jālas’—network-like loci/plexuses—assigning counts and locations (hands, feet, back, throat) and totaling them as sixteen from feet to head.
Beyond myth and devotion, it catalogs a yogic–tantric anatomical schema (named loci and totals), showing the text’s compendium style that includes subtle-body mapping alongside ritual, polity, medicine, and arts.
By locating and counting these internal ‘networks,’ the verse supports disciplined contemplation and practice (dhyāna/nyāsa-style awareness), which is traditionally held to aid purification and focused spiritual progress.