Agni Purana — Agneya-vidya, Shloka 18
Chapter 40 — भूपरिग्रहो नाम
Bhū-parigraha) / अर्घ्यदानविधानम् (Arghya-dāna-vidhāna
मध्ये चतुष्पदे स्थाप्या ब्रह्मणे तिलतण्डुलाः चरकीं माषसर्पिभ्यां स्कन्दं कृशरयासृजा
madhye catuṣpade sthāpyā brahmaṇe tilataṇḍulāḥ carakīṃ māṣasarpibhyāṃ skandaṃ kṛśarayāsṛjā
အလယ်ဗဟိုရှိ လေးထောင့်နေရာတွင် ဘြဟ္မာအား ပူဇော်ရန် နှမ်းစေ့နှင့် ဆန်စေ့ကို ထားရမည်။ carakī ကို မတ်ပဲ (black gram) နှင့် ဂhee ဖြင့် ပူဇော်ရမည်။ ထို့ပြင် စကန္ဒအား kṛśara (ပဲနှင့်ဆန်ချက်) ကို သွေး/အသားရည်နှင့်အတူ ပူဇော်ရမည်။
Lord Agni (narrating Agni Purana’s ritual procedure)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Vrata","secondary_vidya":"Tantra","practical_application":"Central bali/naivedya placement in the mandala: assigning specific food-substances to Brahma and Skanda to complete the offering circuit.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Procedure","entry_title":"Madhya-bali: Brahmā (tila-tandula), Skanda (carakī; kṛśara with asṛk)","lookup_keywords":["madhya chatushpada","Brahma offering","tila tandula","Skanda bali","krishara"],"quick_summary":"In the central square place sesame and rice grains for Brahmā; offer carakī prepared with black gram and ghee; and offer Skanda kṛśara together with blood/meat-juice as specified in the bali scheme."}
Concept: Ritual centrality: the madhya is reserved for high-order deities; substances encode deity-nature (tila/tandula for Brahmā; hearty preparations for Skanda).
Application: When laying out bali, prioritize the central placement and keep offerings distinct to avoid mixing/ritual confusion.
Khanda Section: Puja-vidhi (Ritual offerings and bali arrangements)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A square mandala with a clearly marked central compartment; a small heap of sesame and rice for Brahma; bowls of carakī with black gram and ghee; and a vessel of kṛśara with a red-tinted liquid symbolizing asṛk for Skanda; priest arranging items symmetrically.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, central square mandala emphasized, priest placing tila-tandula in the center for Brahmā, nearby offerings of carakī and kṛśara with red asṛk symbol, stylized Brahmā and Skanda faintly present, bold outlines and warm tones","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting with gold leaf on vessels and halos, Brahmā and Skanda icon-presences above the central offerings, ornate bowls of sesame-rice and kṛśara, rich textile backdrop","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style, clean instructional layout: central square labeled ‘madhya’, neat piles of sesame and rice, bowls of carakī and kṛśara, careful symmetry and fine brushwork","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, ritual pavilion with geometric floor design, priest and assistants placing distinct offerings in the central compartment, detailed utensils, subtle depiction of Skanda’s martial aura"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Shankarabharanam","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: kṛśarayāsṛjā → kṛśarayā + asṛjā.
Related Themes: Agni Purana 40 (central and quadrant bali placements)
FAQs
It specifies deity-wise bali/naivedya arrangement: in a central quadrangular ritual space, sesame and rice are placed for Brahmā, while specific prepared foods (carakī with urad and ghee; kṛśara with asṛk) are offered for Skanda.
It preserves practical, procedural details of temple/household ritual—mandala-based placement and deity-specific offerings—showing the text’s catalog-like coverage of applied liturgy alongside other sciences.
Following prescribed offerings and placements is presented as a means to properly satisfy the respective deities, supporting purification, ritual completeness, and the accrual of merit through correct performance (vidhi).