Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 20

Chapter 174 — प्रायश्चित्तानि

Expiations

Devanagari script

शालग्रामप्रभासाद्यं तीर्थञ्चघोघघातकं अहं ब्रह्म परं ज्योतिरिति ध्यानमघौघनुत्

Transliteration

śālagrāmaprabhāsādyaṃ tīrthañcaghoghaghātakaṃ ahaṃ brahma paraṃ jyotiriti dhyānamaghaughanut

Translation

Śālagrāma, Prabhāsa dan tirtha-tirtha yang lain—semuanya memusnahkan timbunan dosa; demikian juga meditasi (dhyāna) “Aku ialah Brahman, Cahaya Tertinggi” menyingkirkan banyak sekali dosa.

Word by Word

• śālagrāma-prabhāsa-ādyam: beginning with Śālagrāma and Prabhāsa
• śālagrāma-prabhāsa-ādyam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: śālagrāma + prabhāsa + ādi (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा) or Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular; ‘beginning with Śālagrāma and Prabhāsa’ qualifying ‘tīrtham’

• tīrtham: a sacred ford/pilgrimage place
• tīrtham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: tīrtha (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा) or Accusative (2nd/द्वितीया), Singular

• ca: and
• ca: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/connector)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: ca (अव्यय)
• Form: Conjunction

• ghogha-ghātakam: destroyer of masses of sin
• ghogha-ghātakam: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: ghogha + ghātaka (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative/Accusative, Singular; ‘पापौघस्य घातकम्’ (destroyer of heaps of sin) qualifying ‘tīrtham’

• aham: I
• aham: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: asmad (सर्वनाम-प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Pronoun, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• brahma: Brahman
• brahma: Pradhāna-nirdeśa (समानााधिकरण/प्रत्यय)
• Type: Noun
• Root: brahman (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; in apposition with ‘aham’

• param: supreme
• param: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: para (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; qualifying ‘jyotiḥ’

• jyotiḥ: light
• jyotiḥ: Pradhāna-nirdeśa (समानााधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: jyotis (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• iti: thus
• iti: Sambandha (सम्बन्ध/quotative)
• Type: Indeclinable
• Root: iti (अव्यय)
• Form: Quotative particle

• dhyānam: meditation
• dhyānam: Karta (कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: dhyāna (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Neuter, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular

• agha-ogha-nut: remover of heaps of sin
• agha-ogha-nut: Viśeṣaṇa (विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: agha + ogha + nut (√nud/√nū, कृदन्त/प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: Masculine, Nominative (1st/प्रथमा), Singular; ‘नुत्’ = remover/destroyer; qualifying ‘dhyānam’ by implication (dhyānaṃ … nut)

Speaker

Lord Agni (in dialogue with Sage Vasiṣṭha, typical Agni Purāṇa frame)

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Geographic Context

Type: Tirtha

Sandhi Resolution Notes

Sandhi Resolution Notes: tīrthañcaghoghaghātakaṃ = tīrtham ca ghogha-ghātakam; jyotiriti = jyotiḥ iti; dhyānamaghaughanut = dhyānam agha-ogha-nut.

Characters & Entities

• Shalagrama
• Prabhasa
• Brahman
• Param Jyotis

FAQs

What technical or ritual knowledge (Vidya) is imparted in this verse?

It teaches two purificatory means: (1) tīrtha-sevā—visiting sacred places like Śālagrāma and Prabhāsa for sin-destruction, and (2) jñāna-dhyāna—contemplating the mahāvākya-like insight “ahaṃ brahma, paraṃ jyotiḥ” as a practice that eradicates accumulated demerit.

How does this verse contribute to the 'Encyclopedic' nature of the Agni Purana?

It exemplifies the Agni Purāṇa’s wide scope by placing pilgrimage theology (tīrtha-māhātmya) alongside a liberation-oriented contemplative teaching (Brahman as Supreme Light), integrating ritual merit and philosophical soteriology within a single instructional thread.

What is the spiritual or karmic significance of this specific instruction?

The verse asserts that both external sanctification (tīrtha) and internal realization (dhyāna of Brahman as the Supreme Light) function as powerful means for the destruction of “heaps of sin,” implying karmic purification and orientation toward mokṣa.