Agni Purana — Agneya-vidya, Shloka 44
Explanation of the Vāsudeva and Related Mantras (वासुदेवादिमन्त्रनिरूपणम्)
शेषान् हस्ततले न्यस्य शिरस्यथ ललाटके मुखहृन्नाभिगुह्योरुजान्वङ्घ्रौ करणोद्गतौ
śeṣān hastatale nyasya śirasyatha lalāṭake mukhahṛnnābhiguhyorujānvaṅghrau karaṇodgatau
ကျန်ရှိသော မန္တရအက္ခရာများကို လက်ဖဝါးပေါ်တွင်ထား၍ ထို့နောက် ခေါင်းနှင့် နဖူးပေါ်တွင်—မျက်နှာ၊ နှလုံး၊ ဗိုက်ခေါင်း(နာဘီ)၊ လျှို့ဝှက်အင်္ဂါ၊ ပေါင်၊ ဒူးနှင့် ခြေတို့ပေါ်တွင် ထားခြင်းသည် လက်ဖြင့်ပြုသော နျာသ (nyāsa) ဖြစ်သည်။
Lord Agni (instructing the sage Vasiṣṭha in ritual procedure)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Mantra","secondary_vidya":"Tantra","practical_application":"Kara-nyāsa/anga-nyāsa in pūjā and japa: mapping mantra-aṅgas onto palms and body-loci to sacralize the practitioner and stabilize concentration.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Procedure","entry_title":"Kara-nyāsa/Anga-nyāsa: Hand-to-body placement sequence","lookup_keywords":["nyasa","kara-nyasa","anga-nyasa","mantra-sadhana","deha-adhyasa"],"quick_summary":"Install the remaining mantra-parts first on the palms, then sequentially on head/forehead and the principal body-centers down to the feet. This ‘hand-originating’ nyāsa uses the hands as the instrument to awaken the mantra in the body."}
Concept: Deha-nyāsa: the body as a mantra-mandala; sanctification through intentional placement (adhiṣṭhāna) of syllabic power.
Application: Use a consistent locus-order (from head to feet) to reduce ritual error and deepen dhyāna during pūjā/japa.
Khanda Section: Puja-vidhi (Nyasa / Anga-nyasa and Kara-nyasa in Mantra-sadhana)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A sādhaka seated in āsana performs nyāsa: touching palms, then head, forehead, face, heart, navel, genitals, thighs, knees, and feet in a clear ritual sequence.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala temple mural style, flat vibrant colors, sādhaka in yogic seat before a small altar, hands touching successive body points for nyāsa, minimal background, sacred geometry hints, traditional ornaments and lamp light.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, gold-leaf highlights on altar vessels and halo-like aura around the sādhaka, emphasized hand gestures touching head/heart/navel/feet, rich reds and greens, ornate borders.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting style, delicate linework, instructional clarity: numbered or subtly indicated body-loci for nyāsa, calm interior shrine setting, soft shading.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, fine detailing of hands and posture, courtly interior turned into a shrine room, precise depiction of sequential touches, subdued palette with intricate textiles."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: śirasyatha = śirasi + atha. mukhahṛnnābhiguhyorujānvaṅghrau treated as a dvandva listing body-parts; karaṇodgatau = karaṇa + udgatau.
Related Themes: Agni Purana 25 (Nyāsa/Mantra-pūjā context); Agni Purana 24-26 (Pūjā-vidhi sequences, mantra-aṅga placements)
FAQs
It teaches nyāsa—ritually assigning the remaining mantra-parts onto specific body locations (palms through feet) as part of mantra-sādhana and pūjā, using the hands to ‘install’ the mantra in the body.
Beyond mythic narration, it preserves practical liturgical technology (tantric-style kara/anga-nyāsa), showing the Agni Purana’s coverage of detailed worship manuals alongside other sciences.
Nyāsa sacralizes the practitioner’s body as a mantra-vessel, supports concentration and purity in worship, and is traditionally held to enhance the efficacy (siddhi) of japa and ritual offerings.