Agni Purana — Yoga & Brahma-vidya, Shloka 30
Adhyāya 379 — अद्वैतब्रह्मविज्ञानम्
Advaita-brahma-vijñāna
जिह्वा ब्रवीत्यहमिति दन्तौष्ठौ तालुकं नृप एते नाहं यतः सर्वे वाङ्निपादनहेतवः
jihvā bravītyahamiti dantauṣṭhau tālukaṃ nṛpa ete nāhaṃ yataḥ sarve vāṅnipādanahetavaḥ
«អណ្តាតនិយាយថា ‘ខ្ញុំ (ជាអ្នកនិយាយ)’»។ ធ្មេញ បបូរមាត់ និងមាត់លើ (តាលុ) ក៏ថា «មិនមែនខ្ញុំទេ (តែយើង)»។ ព្រះរាជា ព្រោះទាំងអស់នេះជាហេតុបណ្តាលឲ្យសំដីបង្ហាញឡើង។
Lord Agni (instructing a royal interlocutor addressed as ‘nṛpa’)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Vyakarana","secondary_vidya":"Philosophy","practical_application":"Understanding speech production as a coordinated system (tongue, teeth, lips, palate) to refine articulation, recitation, teaching, and debate.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Description","entry_title":"Vāk-nipādana-hetavaḥ: Causes of Speech Manifestation","lookup_keywords":["vāk","jihvā","danta","oṣṭha","tālu"],"quick_summary":"No single organ ‘speaks’ alone; speech arises from multiple cooperating articulators. This supports precise phonetics and undermines simplistic ego-claims of agency."}
Concept: Agency is distributed among causes; the ‘I speak’ claim is conventional, while speech is produced by cooperating instruments.
Application: Reduce ego in discourse; cultivate disciplined recitation by attending to the instrumental causes of sound.
Khanda Section: Vyakarana & Vak-Shastra (Speech anatomy and the mechanics of utterance)
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"An instructional anatomy tableau: tongue, teeth, lips, and palate shown as cooperating ‘speakers’ in a debate-like scene, with a teacher explaining how speech arises from their combined action.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, stylized semi-anatomical mouth diagram integrated into a teaching scene, teacher addressing a king, organs personified with expressive faces, traditional palette and ornamental borders.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore, gold-highlighted teacher figure, symbolic mouth cross-section with labeled tongue/teeth/lips/palate, devotional-instructional fusion, rich reds and greens.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, clear pedagogic diagram of articulation, teacher pointing with stylus, minimal background, fine lines and soft shading for anatomical clarity.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, scholar demonstrating a manuscript diagram of speech organs to a king, delicate rendering of the mouth illustration, refined court setting with books and inkpot."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"didactic","suggested_raga":"Hamsadhwani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: ब्रवीत्यहमिति = ब्रवीति + अहम् + इति; दन्तौष्ठौ = दन्त-ओष्ठौ; नाहं = न + अहम्; वाङ्निपादनहेतवः = वाक् + निपादन + हेतवः (क् + न् → ङ्न्)
Related Themes: Agni Purana Vyākaraṇa/Vāk-śāstra portions on sound and articulation; Agni Purana 379 (speech/saṃjñā reasoning)
FAQs
It teaches vāk-śāstra/phonetic physiology: speech is produced through multiple articulatory organs (tongue, teeth, lips, palate), not by a single agent.
Alongside ritual and dharma, the Agni Purana also preserves technical knowledge such as grammar and phonetics—here, a compact account of how articulated sound is generated.
By understanding speech as conditioned and instrument-based, the verse supports disciplined, mindful speech (satya and restraint), which is traditionally linked to purification and merit.