Padma Purana — Bhumi Khanda, Shloka 83
Yayāti’s Summons to Heaven and the Teaching on Old Age, the Five-Element Body, and Self–Body Discernment
सकामाग्निः समाख्यातो बलनाशकरो नृप । मैथुनस्य प्रसंगेन विनाशत्वं कलेवरे
sakāmāgniḥ samākhyāto balanāśakaro nṛpa | maithunasya prasaṃgena vināśatvaṃ kalevare
हे नृप, इसे सकामाग्नि कहा गया है, जो बल का नाश करने वाला है; मैथुन के प्रसंग/आसक्ति से शरीर विनाश को प्राप्त होता है।
Unspecified (narrator/teacher addressing a king: 'nṛpa')
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Sandhi Resolution Notes: सकामाग्निः = सकाम + अग्निः.
FAQs
“Sakāmāgni” literally means “the fire of desire,” i.e., lust that burns the mind and drives compulsive indulgence.
It warns that attachment to sensual pleasure weakens vitality and leads to bodily and moral decline, encouraging restraint and disciplined living.
The verse criticizes indulgent attachment (“prasaṅga”) that becomes compulsive and harmful; it is framed as a caution against lust-driven excess rather than a blanket denial of household life.