Agni Purana — Agneya-vidya, Shloka 3
Chapter 41 — शिलाविन्यासविधानं
The Procedure for Laying the Stones / Foundation Setting
इष्टकाश् च सुपक्वाः स्युर्द्वादशाङ्गुलसम्मिताः सविस्तारत्रिभागेन वैपुल्येन समन्विताः
iṣṭakāś ca supakvāḥ syurdvādaśāṅgulasammitāḥ savistāratribhāgena vaipulyena samanvitāḥ
အုတ်များသည် ကောင်းစွာ မီးဖုတ်ပြီး ဖြစ်ရမည်။ အလျားမှာ အင်္ဂုလ (aṅgula) ၁၂ ဖြစ်စေ၍၊ အကျယ်မှာ ထိုအလျား၏ သုံးပုံတစ်ပုံနှင့် ကိုက်ညီစေကာ၊ ထို့အပြင် သင့်လျော်သော အထူ (အနက်) ပါရှိရမည်။
Lord Agni (narrating the technical injunctions of Vāstu/ritual construction)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Vastu","secondary_vidya":"Shilpa","practical_application":"Standardizing brick manufacture for sacred construction: ensuring proper firing and specifying canonical dimensions to achieve structural strength and ritual correctness.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Definition","entry_title":"Iṣṭakā-lakṣaṇa: well-fired bricks of 12 aṅgulas with one-third breadth","lookup_keywords":["iṣṭakā","brick dimensions","dvādaśāṅgula","supakva","māna"],"quick_summary":"Bricks for sacred building should be well-fired and standardized: 12 aṅgulas in length, breadth one-third of the length, with suitable thickness. This ensures uniform bonding, stability, and compliance with śāstric measure."}
Concept: Māna (measure) as dharma in craft: correct proportion is both technical and sacral.
Application: Adopt fixed brick proportions and proper firing to prevent structural weakness and ritual ‘doṣa’ from irregular materials.
Khanda Section: Vāstu-Śāstra / Iṣṭakā-nirmāṇa (Brick-making and measurements for sacred construction)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Brick-making yard: bricks being molded to measured length, then fired in a kiln; a sthapati checks dimensions with an aṅgula/hasta measure, showing breadth as one-third of length.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural style, artisans near a kiln, stacks of uniform bricks, a master measuring with traditional scale, warm smoky tones, emphasis on orderly rows and proportion.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style, decorative yet technical: gold accents on measuring tools and kiln flames, neatly stacked bricks of uniform size, master craftsman demonstrating 12-aṅgula length.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, instructional diagram-like scene: brick with marked segments showing one-third breadth, kiln firing in background, craftsman measuring with calm precision.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, detailed brick kiln and workshop, artisans shaping and firing bricks, a supervisor measuring with a small rule, fine textures of clay and firelight."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":null,"pace":"fast","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: स्युर्द्वादशाङ्गुलसम्मिताः → स्युः द्वादश-अङ्गुल-सम्मिताः; सविस्तारत्रिभागेन → स-विस्तार-त्रि-भागेन.
Related Themes: Agni Purana Vāstu/Śilpa passages on māna (aṅgula, hasta) and material qualifications; Agni Purana sections on foundation and wall construction using iṣṭakā
FAQs
It specifies standardized Vāstu/ritual construction parameters for iṣṭakā (bricks): they must be properly fired and made to fixed proportions—12 aṅgulas in length with breadth set at one-third of the length, along with suitable thickness.
Beyond theology, the Agni Purana preserves practical technical standards—here, precise construction measurement rules used in altar/temple building—showing its coverage of applied sciences like Vāstu-śāstra alongside ritual and doctrine.
Using correctly proportioned, well-fired bricks supports the purity, stability, and efficacy of sacred structures and fire-rites; accurate materials are treated as part of ritual correctness (śuddhi) that sustains merit (puṇya) and proper worship outcomes.