Agni Purana — Agneya-vidya, Shloka 23
Chapter 19 — कश्यपवंशवर्णनम्
Description of Kaśyapa’s Lineage
द्विजौषधीनां चन्द्रश् च अपान्तु वरुणो नृपः राज्ञां वैश्रवणो राजा सूर्याणां विष्णोरीश्वरः
dvijauṣadhīnāṃ candraś ca apāntu varuṇo nṛpaḥ rājñāṃ vaiśravaṇo rājā sūryāṇāṃ viṣṇorīśvaraḥ
နှစ်ကြိမ်မွေးဖွားသူများ (ဒွိဇ) နှင့် ဆေးဖက်ဝင်အပင်များအပေါ်တွင် လသည် အုပ်စိုးသည်။ ရေများအပေါ်တွင် ဗရုဏမင်း အုပ်ချုပ်သည်။ မင်းများအပေါ်တွင် ဝိုင်ශ්ရဝဏ (ကူဘေရ) မင်း အုပ်စိုးသည်။ နေများအပေါ်တွင်တော့ ဗိෂ္ဏုသည် အမြင့်ဆုံး အရှင်ဖြစ်သည်။
Lord Agni (narrating to the sage Vasiṣṭha in the Agni Purāṇa’s didactic frame)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Cosmology","secondary_vidya":"Mantra","practical_application":"Mapping domains to presiding deities for worship planning, ritual invocation, and understanding cosmic administration (adhipatya).","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"List","entry_title":"Adhipatis of Classes and Domains: Moon, Varuṇa, Kubera, Viṣṇu","lookup_keywords":["adhipati","Candra","Varuṇa","Vaiśravaṇa","Viṣṇu"],"quick_summary":"The verse assigns cosmic jurisdictions: Moon over twice-born and medicinal herbs, Varuṇa over waters, Kubera over kings, and Viṣṇu as lord over the suns—useful for domain-specific propitiation and ritual address."}
Concept: Adhipatya-niyama: the world is intelligible through ordered correspondences between beings/domains and their presiding intelligences (devatās).
Application: In pūjā and vrata: invoke the relevant adhipati for the domain involved (water rites to Varuṇa; wealth/royal authority to Kubera; herb/food nourishment to Soma; overarching protection to Viṣṇu).
Khanda Section: Puja-vidhi / Devata-nama & Adhipatya (Deities presiding over classes of beings and cosmic domains)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A cosmological tableau showing four regents: Candra blessing brāhmaṇas and herbs; Varuṇa presiding over waters; Kubera enthroned among kings and wealth; Viṣṇu above multiple suns as supreme lord.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, segmented cosmic panels: Candra with cool white aura over herb-groves and dvijas; Varuṇa on makara over stylized waves; Kubera in jeweled court with kings offering tribute; Viṣṇu centrally above radiant solar discs, bold outlines and temple-mural ornament","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore gold-work, four-deity composition with ornate halos: Candra with crescent and lotus over oṣadhi vines; Varuṇa with pāśa over ocean; Kubera with treasure and crowned kings; Viṣṇu elevated with śaṅkha-cakra, multiple suns as golden medallions","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style, didactic clarity: labeled domains (oṣadhi, āpaḥ, rājānaḥ, sūryāḥ) with each deity in a neat register, soft pastel shading, fine facial detailing, minimal background clutter","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature allegory: a garden with physicians collecting herbs under moonlight; a river scene with Varuṇa; a royal durbar with Kubera as divine patron; a celestial sky with Viṣṇu above clustered suns, intricate naturalism and architectural detail"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Bhairav","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: द्विजौषधीनाम् treated as tatpuruṣa (dvija + auṣadhī) in genitive plural; चन्द्रश् च = candraḥ + ca; अपान्तु = apām + tu; विष्णोरीश्वरः = viṣṇoḥ + īśvaraḥ.
Related Themes: Agni Purana: Devatā-nāma and stotra sections listing adhipatis (adjacent 19.24–19.26); Agni Purana: Pūjā-vidhi segments where domain-deities are invoked for offerings
FAQs
It teaches devatā-adhipatya—mapping which deity presides over specific classes (dvijas, herbs, waters, kings, solar powers), a framework used in ritual address, mantra-context, and theological classification.
By cataloging cosmic “administration” (who governs what), it functions like a reference index of domains and their presiding deities—one of the Agni Purāṇa’s hallmark encyclopedic lists spanning theology, ritual, and cosmology.
Recognizing rightful presiding deities supports correct devotion and ritual orientation; it cultivates dharmic discernment (knowing cosmic order) and is held to enhance the efficacy and purity of worship directed to the appropriate divine authority.