Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 31
Prāyaścitta — Definitions of Killing, Brahmahatyā, and Graded Expiations
शूद्रादनिन्द्यान्येतानि गुडक्षीररसादिकं अस्नातभुक् चोपवासी दिनान्ते तु जपाच्छुचिः
śūdrādanindyānyetāni guḍakṣīrarasādikaṃ asnātabhuk copavāsī dinānte tu japācchuciḥ
ಶೂದ್ರನಿಂದ ಬೆಲ್ಲ, ಹಾಲು, ಹಣ್ಣು-ರಸ ಮೊದಲಾದವುಗಳನ್ನು ಸ್ವೀಕರಿಸುವುದು ನಿಂದನೀಯವಲ್ಲ. ಸ್ನಾನವಿಲ್ಲದೆ ಭೋಜನ ಮಾಡಿದವನು ಉಪವಾಸವಿಟ್ಟು, ದಿನಾಂತ್ಯದಲ್ಲಿ ಜಪದಿಂದ ಶುದ್ಧನಾಗಬೇಕು.
Lord Agni (instructing the sage Vasiṣṭha)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Samanya","practical_application":"Guidance for householders and officials on what food-gifts may be accepted across varna boundaries and what penance restores purity after improper eating.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Procedure","entry_title":"Acceptable items from a Śūdra; penance for eating without bathing","lookup_keywords":["śūdra-pratigraha","guḍa","kṣīra","rasa","asnātabhuk-prāyaścitta"],"quick_summary":"Certain simple foods (jaggery, milk, fruit-juice, etc.) may be accepted from a Śūdra without blame. If one eats without bathing, one should fast and regain purity by japa at day’s end."}
Concept: Śauca is restored by regulated conduct (upavāsa) and mantra-recitation (japa), and social exchange is bounded by dharmic acceptability.
Application: In daily life: accept only permitted items in inter-varna transactions; if a lapse occurs (eating without bath), adopt fasting and japa as corrective routine.
Khanda Section: Rajadharma & Shaucha-Achara (Rules of purity, food, and conduct)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A householder receives simple foods (jaggery, milk, fruit-juice) and later performs a day-end purification: fasting posture and japa with a mālā near a water-pot for bathing.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala temple mural style, warm earthy palette, a dharmic householder seated in padmāsana doing japa with rudrākṣa mālā, beside a brass kalaśa and offerings of guḍa and kṣīra, stylized interior with traditional motifs, flat perspective, crisp outlines","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, gold-leaf highlights on vessels and offering plates, householder with mālā performing japa at dusk, plate with jaggery lumps and milk pot, ornate arch frame, rich reds and greens","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting style, delicate linework, instructional domestic scene: accepted foods on a low stool, then the same person fasting and reciting japa at day’s end, minimal background, soft shading","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, detailed household courtyard, servant presenting milk and fruit-juice, later the patron seated with prayer beads at sunset, fine textiles, naturalistic vessels, subtle sky gradient"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: śūdrāt + anindyāni + etāni → śūdrādanindyānyetāni; bhuk + ca → bhuk ca (written copavāsī = ca + upavāsī); japāt + śuciḥ → japācchuciḥ (t + ś → cch).
Related Themes: Agni Purana 173 (Śauca/Prāyaścitta section); Agni Purana chapters on vrata and prāyaścitta (general)
FAQs
It gives shaucha-ācāra: which food items are permissible to accept (guḍa, kṣīra, rasa, etc.) and the corrective rite—fasting and japa—if one has eaten without bathing.
Beyond myth, it codifies practical dharma: social/food etiquette, purity discipline, and remedial observances—showing the Agni Purana’s coverage of daily-life regulation alongside ritual and theology.
It treats a lapse in bodily purity (eating before bathing) as correctable through tapas (upavāsa) and mantra-practice (japa), restoring śauca and reducing demerit through disciplined self-restraint and sacred recitation.