Agni Purana — Sahitya-shastra, Shloka 3
काव्यगुणविवेकः
Examination of the Qualities of Poetry
यः काव्ये महतीं छायामनुगृह्णात्यसौ गुणैः सम्भवत्येष सामान्यो वैशेषिक इति द्विधा
yaḥ kāvye mahatīṃ chāyāmanugṛhṇātyasau guṇaiḥ sambhavatyeṣa sāmānyo vaiśeṣika iti dvidhā
जो कवी गुणांच्या साहाय्याने काव्यात महान ‘छाया’ (परिष्कृत काव्य-आभा) प्राप्त करतो, ती छाया दोन प्रकारची मानली जाते—सामान्य आणि वैशेषिक।
Lord Agni (in instruction to sage Vasiṣṭha, in the Agni Purana’s kāvya-śāstra section)
Primary Rasa: Adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: Shanta
Sandhi Resolution Notes: Resolved: छायामनुगृह्णात्यसौ→छायाम् अनुगृह्णाति असौ; सम्भवत्येष→सम्भवति एषः.
FAQs
It imparts kāvya-śāstra (Sanskrit poetics): ‘chāyā’—a refined poetic aura produced by guṇas—is classified into two technical types, sāmānya (general) and vaiśeṣika (distinctive).
By codifying a taxonomy of literary aesthetics (chāyā and its types), the Agni Purana functions not only as a religious text but also as a compendium of technical disciplines such as poetics and rhetorical theory.
While not a ritual injunction, it frames refined speech and well-formed poetry as a disciplined śāstra; in the Purāṇic worldview, cultivated, truthful, and aesthetically ordered expression supports dharma and the uplifting (puṇya-oriented) use of language.