Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 34
Śāva-āśauca and Sūtikā-śauca: Death/Childbirth Impurity, Preta-śuddhi, and Śrāddha Procedure
Chapter 157
मैथुने कटधूमे च सद्यः स्नानं विधीयते द्विजं न निर्हरेत् प्रेतं शूद्रेण तु कथञ्चन
maithune kaṭadhūme ca sadyaḥ snānaṃ vidhīyate dvijaṃ na nirharet pretaṃ śūdreṇa tu kathañcana
လိင်ဆက်ဆံပြီးနောက်နှင့် မီးသင်္ဂြိုဟ်မီးခိုးကို ထိတွေ့ပြီးနောက် ချက်ချင်း ရေချိုးရန် သတ်မှတ်ထားသည်။ ထို့ပြင် ရှူဒြ (Śūdra) သည် ဒွိဇ (dvija) ၏ ပရေတ (အလောင်း/သေသူ) ကို မည်သို့မျှ သယ်ဆောင်ခြင်း သို့မဟုတ် ဖယ်ရှားကိုင်တွယ်ခြင်း မပြုရ။
Lord Agni (in discourse to sage Vasiṣṭha, typical Agni Purana narration frame)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Samanya","practical_application":"Observe immediate bathing after intercourse and after contact with cremation smoke; follow varṇa-based restrictions in handling dvija corpses to maintain ritual order and purity norms.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Procedure","entry_title":"Sadyas-snāna after maithuna and śmaśāna smoke; restriction on Śūdra handling dvija preta","lookup_keywords":["maithuna","sadyah-snana","katadhuma","preta","dvija"],"quick_summary":"Immediate bath is prescribed after sexual intercourse and after exposure to cremation smoke; additionally, a Śūdra is prohibited from carrying/handling the corpse of a twice-born."}
Concept: Śauca is restored through prompt cleansing after specific contacts; social-ritual roles are regulated to preserve prescribed order in antyeṣṭi contexts.
Application: After maithuna or cremation-ground exposure, bathe before japa, pūjā, cooking for rites, or temple entry; assign corpse-handling roles according to the text’s injunctions.
Khanda Section: Dharma-śāstra & Śauca-vidhi (Purification and ritual conduct)
Primary Rasa: Shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Two-part instructional scene: (1) a couple’s chamber implied discreetly, followed by a man taking immediate bath; (2) a cremation ground with rising pyre smoke, a person bathing afterward; a separate vignette shows dvija funeral handled by appropriate bearers while a Śūdra stands aside per injunction.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: split panels—left shows discreet domestic setting and snāna at a pond; right shows śmaśāna with stylized smoke and a bathing ghāṭa; figures in traditional attire, didactic temple-wall narrative.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central bathing figure with gold-highlighted water pot; background medallion of cremation pyre smoke; ornate borders; symbolic, non-explicit domestic reference for maithuna followed by purification.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: step-by-step purity instruction—‘sadyah snāna’ emphasized; cremation smoke exposure and immediate bath; clear role depiction for corpse handling with labeled participants.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature: refined domestic interior leading to courtyard bath; separate cremation-ground vignette with smoke and attendants; careful, non-graphic rendering; emphasis on social roles and ritual sequence."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":null,"pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: No major sandhi beyond standard euphony; verse contains locatives maithune, kaṭadhūme indicating conditions; prohibition: na nirharet ... śūdreṇa ... kathañcana.
Related Themes: Agni Purana: śauca rules for bodily acts and death-contact in the dharma chapters; Agni Purana: antyeṣṭi procedure sections specifying who performs which tasks
FAQs
It gives śauca-vidhi: immediate bathing is mandated after maithuna (intercourse) and after contact with kaṭa-dhūma (cremation/pyre smoke), and it regulates who may handle a dvija’s corpse.
It preserves practical dharma-śāstra style rules—purification timings and funerary role-restrictions—showing the text’s coverage beyond mythology into ritual law and social-religious procedure.
The immediate bath functions as a purification act to restore ritual fitness after impurity-contact, while the restriction on handling the dvija-preta reflects prescribed boundaries intended to protect rite-correctness and avoid doṣa (ritual fault).