Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 38
Chapter 168 — महापातकादिकथनम्
Exposition of Great Sins and Related Topics
जैंभं पुंसि च मैथुन्यं जातिभ्रंशकरं स्मृतं श्वखरोष्ट्रमृगेन्द्राणामजाव्योश् चैव मारणं
jaiṃbhaṃ puṃsi ca maithunyaṃ jātibhraṃśakaraṃ smṛtaṃ śvakharoṣṭramṛgendrāṇāmajāvyoś caiva māraṇaṃ
ການຮ່ວມເພດກັບຜູ້ຊາຍ ແລະກັບສັດ (jaiṃbha) ທີ່ບໍ່ແມ່ນມະນຸດ ຖືກຈື່ຈຳວ່າເຮັດໃຫ້ເສຍສະຖານະວັນນະ; ອີກທັງການຂ້າໝາ, ລາ, ອູດ, ສິງ, ແລະແບ້ກັບແກະ ກໍຖືກຕຳນິ.
Lord Agni (narrating to Sage Vasiṣṭha)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Samanya","practical_application":"Defines prohibited sexual conduct and condemned killings that entail severe social-religious consequence (jati-bhramsha), guiding personal restraint and community norms.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"List","entry_title":"Jātibhraṃśakara-karmāṇi (acts causing loss of caste-status)","lookup_keywords":["jātibhraṃśa","puṃs-maithuna","bestiality","hiṃsā-niṣedha","mahāpātaka-upapātaka"],"quick_summary":"The verse lists transgressive sexual acts and certain killings treated as gravely polluting, used in dharma adjudication and in deciding expiation (prāyaścitta)."}
Concept: Adharma as social-religious pollution (pāpa/aśauca) with consequences like jātibhraṃśa; ahiṃsā toward specified beings as a dharmic boundary.
Application: Used by householders and adjudicators to classify offenses and trigger appropriate avoidance, confession, and expiation protocols.
Khanda Section: Dharma-shastra / Achara (Ethics and Prohibited Conduct)
Primary Rasa: bibhatsa
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A dharma-assembly scene where a teacher enumerates forbidden acts; symbolic vignettes of animals mentioned (dog, donkey, camel, lion, goat, sheep) shown as protected beings under dharma.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala temple mural style, a seated rishi teaching dharma to disciples, palm-leaf manuscript, animals arranged in a frieze below, earthy reds and ochres, flat iconic composition, sacred didactic mood.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, central rishi with halo and gold leaf detailing, disciples in reverence, stylized animals in side panels, ornate borders, emphasis on moral instruction.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting style, fine linework of a guru explaining niṣedha-dharma, labeled animals in neat registers, soft colors, instructional manuscript aesthetic.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, court-like scholarly gathering with a pandit reading from a manuscript, naturalistic animals depicted in margins, detailed textiles, restrained palette, moral-legal theme."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: śvakharoṣṭramṛgendrāṇām = śva-khara-uṣṭra-mṛga-indrāṇām; ajāvyoś caiva = aja-avyōḥ ca eva.
Related Themes: Agni Purana 168 (mahāpātaka/upapātaka listing); Agni Purana 169–170 (prāyaścitta section begins)
FAQs
It enumerates specific prohibited sexual conduct and killings that are classified as grave faults, noted for causing social-religious degradation (jātibhraṃśa) and requiring avoidance (and typically expiation in related dharma contexts).
Alongside ritual, mythology, and statecraft, the Agni Purana also preserves dharma-legal material—lists of forbidden acts and their consequences—showing its compendious coverage of practical norms governing personal conduct.
The verse frames these actions as producing serious negative karma expressed as ‘fall’ in religious-social standing and moral impurity, implying the need for restraint and (in the broader dharma framework) remedial expiation if violated.