Agni Purana — Ayurveda, Shloka 8
Chapter 299 — ग्रहहृन्मन्त्रादिकम्
Grahahṛn-Mantras and Allied Procedures
देहि दहीति याचेत बलिकामग्रही नरः स्त्रीमालाभोगस्नानेच्छूरतिकामग्रही नरः
dehi dahīti yāceta balikāmagrahī naraḥ strīmālābhogasnānecchūratikāmagrahī naraḥ
「与えよ、与えよ」と叫びつつ絶えず乞い求める男は、バリ（施与・供物）への欲に捉えられた者である。女、花鬘、感官の享楽、沐浴を渇望する男は、快楽への欲情の渇愛に捉えられた者である。
Lord Agni (narrating purāṇic nīti to sage Vasiṣṭha, per the common Agni Purāṇa dialogue frame)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Arthashastra","secondary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","practical_application":"Moral-psychological diagnosis for governance and self-discipline: identifying character-types driven by begging/greed and by sensual craving, useful for counsel, social ethics, and personal reform.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Definition","entry_title":"Lakṣaṇa of Lobha and Kāma-driven Persons (Begging and Sensual Craving)","lookup_keywords":["dehi-dehi","balikāma","rati-kāma","nīti-lakṣaṇa","rajadharma"],"quick_summary":"Repeated begging indicates fixation on handouts/offerings; obsession with women, garlands, pleasures, and bathing indicates a person seized by lustful craving. Use these markers for ethical self-check and for assessing reliability in social dealings."}
Concept: Kāma and lobha as grasping forces that reveal themselves through habitual speech and pursuits; ethical life requires recognizing and restraining such compulsions.
Application: Observe one’s own repetitive impulses (begging/pleasure-seeking) as indicators of inner bondage; cultivate restraint, contentment, and right livelihood.
Khanda Section: Rajadharma / Niti-shastra (Social conduct, character-types, and moral diagnostics)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Two contrasting figures: one man repeatedly begging with outstretched hands; another adorned with garlands, seeking women and sensual comforts, near a bathing place—presented as moral types for diagnosis.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala temple mural style, flat earthy palette, two-panel moral allegory: left a gaunt beggar chanting 'dehi dehi' with extended palms; right a richly dressed man with garlands and attendants near a bathing ghat, suggestive of sensual craving; traditional ornamental borders.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, gold-leaf highlights: moral tableau with two figures, left humble beggar with minimal gold, right opulent pleasure-seeker with heavy gold ornaments and garlands; stylized architecture and lotus motifs.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting style, fine linework: instructional nīti illustration with labeled attributes (begging gesture; garland, bath vessel, female companion) and calm didactic composition.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, detailed courtly setting: a petitioner repeatedly pleading before a household; separate vignette of a noble indulging in pleasures and bathing preparations; delicate textiles and architectural detail."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":null,"pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: दहीति = दहि + इति; स्नानेच्छु- = स्नान + इच्छु (vowel coalescence in compound); long compounds treated as तत्पुरुष determinatives.
Related Themes: Agni Purana Rajadharma/Nīti sections on doṣas of kingship and social types (near ch. 299)
FAQs
It gives a nīti-based diagnostic: repeated begging for “bali” (offerings/handouts) signals greed, while craving women, adornment, pleasures, and frequent bathing signals domination by kāma (sensual desire).
Alongside rituals, cosmology, and sciences, the Agni Purāṇa also catalogs practical ethics and behavioral typologies—brief rules that function like a manual for social and personal governance (nīti/rajadharma).
It warns that being “seized” by greed or lust binds one to attachment-driven action; recognizing these tendencies supports restraint (dama) and steadier dharmic conduct, reducing karmic entanglement.