Agni Purana — Avatara-lila, Shloka 16
Kūrma-avatāra-varṇana (The Description of the Tortoise Incarnation) — Samudra Manthana and the Reordering of Cosmic Prosperity
राहुर्मत्तस्तु चन्द्रार्कौ प्राप्स्येते ग्रहणं ग्रहः तस्मिन् कले च यद्दानं दास्यन्ते स्यात् तदक्षयं
rāhurmattastu candrārkau prāpsyete grahaṇaṃ grahaḥ tasmin kale ca yaddānaṃ dāsyante syāt tadakṣayaṃ
राहू उन्मत्त झाला की तो चंद्र व सूर्याला ग्रासतो—हेच ग्रहाने घडविलेले ग्रहण होय. त्या काळी जे दान दिले जाते ते अक्षय पुण्यफल देणारे ठरते.
Lord Agni (narrating to Sage Vasiṣṭha, typical Agni Purāṇa dialogue frame)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Jyotisha","secondary_vidya":"Dana-Dharma","practical_application":"Grahaṇa-kāla (eclipse time) is identified as a high-merit window for dāna; one schedules charity, japa, snāna, and śrāddha-like acts accordingly.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Description","entry_title":"Grahaṇa-kāla Dāna—Akṣaya Puṇya","lookup_keywords":["Rahu","grahana","dana","akshaya","chandra-surya"],"quick_summary":"Eclipses are explained as Rāhu’s seizure of Sun/Moon; gifts given during the eclipse are said to yield imperishable merit, so dāna is prioritized in that interval."}
Concept: Kāla-viśeṣa: certain times amplify karmic fruit; dāna at grahaṇa becomes akṣaya.
Application: Prepare beforehand (food, gold, cloth, cows, sesame, etc. per local custom) and give during eclipse while maintaining purity vows.
Khanda Section: Jyotisha & Dana-Dharma (Eclipse rites and meritorious giving)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Rāhu, a shadowy graha, grasps the Sun and Moon while devotees perform dāna and snāna during the darkened sky.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala temple mural style, dramatic eclipse sky, large stylized Rāhu with serpent-tail, Sun and Moon partially covered, devotees in white dhoti offering dāna, lamp-lit riverbank, rich reds and ochres","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, gold-leaf haloed Sun and Moon, ornate Rāhu figure, foreground donors giving cloth and coins to brāhmaṇas, embossed gold details, temple gopura silhouette","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, clean linework, instructional tableau: eclipse disk, clock-like kāla marker, donors with labeled gifts (til, hiraṇya, vastra), calm palette with fine ornament","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, night-blue eclipse scene, detailed faces of donors and recipients, Rāhu as a dark celestial head near the eclipsed orb, river ghāṭ with ritual vessels, delicate borders"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: राहुर्मत्तस्तु = राहुः मत्तः तु; चन्द्रार्कौ treated as द्वन्द्व (चन्द्र + अर्क) in द्वितीया-द्विवचन; यद्दानं = यत् दानम्; तदक्षयं = तत् अक्षयम्.
Related Themes: Agni Purana: dāna-vidhi sections; Agni Purana: jyotiṣa/grahaṇa-nimitta sections
FAQs
It teaches a Jyotiṣa-based ritual timing rule: during a grahaṇa (eclipse) caused by Rāhu, dāna (charitable giving) performed in that specific kāla is considered especially efficacious and yields akṣaya (inexhaustible) merit.
It integrates cosmological/Jyotiṣa explanation (Rāhu as the graha responsible for eclipses) with applied dharma practice (dāna at grahaṇa-kāla), showing how the text links astronomical phenomena, ritual calendars, and karma-producing actions.
Gifts given during an eclipse are said to become akṣaya—undiminishing in result—implying heightened karmic return and enduring religious merit when charity is aligned with a potent sacred time.