Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 42
Srāvādya-śauca
Impurity due to bodily discharge and allied causes
विद्युदग्निहतानाञ्च त्र्यहं शुद्धिः सपिण्डिके पाषण्डाश्रिता भर्तृघ्न्यो नाशौचोदकगाः स्त्रियः
vidyudagnihatānāñca tryahaṃ śuddhiḥ sapiṇḍike pāṣaṇḍāśritā bhartṛghnyo nāśaucodakagāḥ striyaḥ
Bagi mereka yang mati tersambar petir atau terbakar api, masa penyucian bagi kerabat sapiṇḍa adalah tiga hari. Perempuan yang berlindung pada sekte sesat, yang membunuh (atau menyebabkan kematian) suami, atau yang tidak menjalankan aturan āśauca dan persembahan air—tidak berhak atas tata-ritus biasa terkait āśauca dan libasi.
Lord Agni (in discourse to sage Vasiṣṭha, typical Agni Purāṇa frame)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Sandhi Resolution Notes: hatānāñca = hatānām + ca; vidyudagnihatānām = vidyut + agni + hatānām; pāṣaṇḍāśritā = pāṣaṇḍa + āśritāḥ; nāśaucodakagāḥ = na + aśauca-udaka-gāḥ.
FAQs
It specifies the śuddhi (purification/impurity-ending) duration—three days—for sapiṇḍa relatives when death occurs by lightning or fire, and it delineates categories of women treated as outside the standard ashaucha-and-udaka framework.
Alongside theology and worship, the Agni Purāṇa preserves practical dharma-shāstra material—precise impurity periods and eligibility rules for funerary observances—showing its coverage of social-ritual law.
By fixing time-bound purification and eligibility for udaka/ashaucha rites, the verse frames death-ritual conduct as karmically consequential—maintaining ritual order (śuddhi) and proper ancestral obligations (libations) within the kin group.