Agni Purana — Agneya-vidya, Shloka 20
Chapter 23 — पूजाविधिकथनम्
The Account of the Rules of Worship
एवमष्टाक्षराद्यैश् च पूजां कृत्वा विमुक्तिभाक् एकमूर्त्यर्चनं प्रोक्तं नवव्यूहार्चनं शृणु
evamaṣṭākṣarādyaiś ca pūjāṃ kṛtvā vimuktibhāk ekamūrtyarcanaṃ proktaṃ navavyūhārcanaṃ śṛṇu
ဤသို့ အဋ္ဌာက္ခရာ (အက္ခရာရှစ်လုံး) မန္တရနှင့် အခြား မန္တရများဖြင့် ပူဇော်ပြီးနောက် သူသည် မုက္ခ (လွတ်မြောက်ခြင်း) ကို ရရှိသူ ဖြစ်လာသည်။ တစ်ရုပ်တည်းကို ပူဇော်ခြင်း (ekamūrti-arcana) ကို ဟောပြောပြီးပြီ။ ယခု နဝဗျူဟ (vyūha ကိုးပါး) ပူဇော်ခြင်းကို နားထောင်လော့။
Lord Agni (instructing sage Vashistha)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Mantra","secondary_vidya":"Philosophy","practical_application":"Use the Aṣṭākṣarī and related Vaiṣṇava mantras for liberation-oriented worship; proceed from ekamūrti-arcana to the more elaborate navavyūha-arcana framework.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Commentary","entry_title":"Aṣṭākṣarī-based Vaiṣṇava worship leading to mokṣa; transition from Ekamūrti to Navavyūha arcana","lookup_keywords":["aṣṭākṣarī","mokṣa","ekamūrti-arcana","navavyūha","vyūha-arcana"],"quick_summary":"Worship with the eight-syllabled Vaiṣṇava mantra and allied mantras is presented as mokṣa-yielding; after teaching single-form worship, the text introduces the nine-vyūha system for expanded ritual theology."}
Concept: Mantra-arcana is framed as a direct means toward vimukti; theological expansion from unity (eka) to ordered emanations (vyūha) provides graded contemplative supports.
Application: Begin with aṣṭākṣarī-centered daily worship; adopt vyūha-arcana when trained, using a structured multi-form visualization to deepen practice.
Khanda Section: Puja-vidhi (Vaishnava Mantra and Vyuharcana Worship Procedures)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: śānta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A teacher-sage instructs a disciple: first showing worship of a single Viṣṇu icon with aṣṭākṣarī mantra, then indicating a diagram or arrangement of nine vyūha forms for the next stage.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, guru teaching disciple before a central Viṣṇu shrine, aṣṭākṣarī written on palm-leaf, next panel shows nine emanational forms arranged in a mandala, bold colors and temple motifs","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, central Viṣṇu with gold halo, guru holding palm-leaf inscribed mantra, disciple listening, surrounding medallions depicting nine vyūha forms with gold highlights, ornate arch and lamps","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, didactic composition: left side ekamūrti worship scene with mantra-japa, right side navavyūha layout as a neat mandala chart, soft palette, emphasis on clarity and structure","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, scholarly setting with manuscripts, guru-disciple dialogue, central shrine image, nine-form diagram painted like a miniature chart, intricate borders and refined detailing"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Kalyani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: एवमष्टाक्षराद्यैश् → एवम् + अष्टाक्षराद्यैः; एकमूर्त्यर्चनम् → एकमूर्ति + अर्चनम्; नवव्यूहार्चनम् → नवव्यूह + अर्चनम्; विमुक्तिभाक् (भाक्-शब्दः समासान्त).
Related Themes: Agni Purana 23 (Aṣṭākṣarī and Vaiṣṇava mantra sections; forthcoming Navavyūha-arcana section)
FAQs
It frames a Vaishnava worship sequence: after performing pūjā using the Aṣṭākṣara and related mantras, the text transitions from Ekamūrti-arcana (single-form worship) to Nava-vyūha-arcana (worship of nine Vyūha emanations).
By cataloging and systematizing ritual modules—mantra-based pūjā, single-form icon worship, and multi-emanation (vyūha) worship—it exemplifies the Agni Purana’s manual-like coverage of liturgy alongside its many other disciplines.
The verse explicitly links mantra-informed pūjā (centered on the Aṣṭākṣara) with vimukti—liberation—presenting disciplined worship as a direct means to purification and mokṣa-oriented merit.