Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 61
Srāvādya-śauca
Impurity due to bodily discharge and allied causes
सर्वेषां शावमाशौचं मातापित्रोश् च सूतकं सूतकं मातुरेव स्यादुपस्पृश्य पिता शुचिः
sarveṣāṃ śāvamāśaucaṃ mātāpitroś ca sūtakaṃ sūtakaṃ mātureva syādupaspṛśya pitā śuciḥ
လူအားလုံးအတွက် သေဆုံးမှုကြောင့် ဖြစ်သော အရှုချိ (śāvāśauca) ရှိသည်။ မိခင်နှင့် ဖခင်တို့အတွက် မွေးဖွားမှုအရှုချိ (sūtaka) လည်းရှိသည်။ သို့သော် sūtaka သည် မိခင်အပေါ်တွင်သာ သက်ရောက်ပြီး၊ ဖခင်သည် ရေကိုထိ၍ သန့်စင်ခြင်း (upasparśa/ācamana) ပြုလုပ်ပြီးနောက် သန့်ရှင်းလာသည်။
Lord Agni (in dialogue tradition, instructing the sage Vasiṣṭha)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Samanya","practical_application":"Clarifying who incurs death-impurity and birth-impurity, and specifying the father’s quick purification via ācamana/upasparśa.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Definition","entry_title":"Allocation of sūtaka: mother’s impurity and father’s purification by upasparśa","lookup_keywords":["sūtaka","upasparśa","ācamana","mātā","pitā"],"quick_summary":"Death-impurity applies broadly, while birth-impurity affects parents; specifically, the mother bears sūtaka, and the father becomes pure after simple water-touch purification."}
Concept: Differentiated dharma obligations: impurity rules are role-specific, and purification can be graded (from extended observance to minimal ācamana).
Application: In household ritual scheduling, treat the mother’s sūtaka as binding while allowing the father’s rapid return to ritual eligibility after prescribed water purification.
Khanda Section: Dharma-shastra (Ashaucha & Shaucha: impurity and purification rules)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A domestic scene after childbirth: the mother in seclusion under sūtaka observance, while the father performs ācamana (touching water) and resumes limited ritual duties.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, interior household scene, mother resting with attendants, father at a small water pot performing ācamana, muted colors, emphasis on ritual purity gestures","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, gold work on the water vessel and ritual tray, father shown in crisp profile doing ācamana, mother in a separate chamber, clear separation indicating sūtaka","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style, instructional close-up of upasparśa/ācamana hand gestures with water pot, secondary panel showing mother’s seclusion, fine lines and clarity","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, detailed zenana and courtyard split composition, father performing ācamana near a fountain, mother attended indoors, realistic textiles and architecture"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":null,"pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: शावमाशौचं = शावम् + आशौचम्; मातापित्रोश् = मातापित्रोः + (च इत्यत्र विसर्ग-लोप); मातुरेव = मातुः + एव; स्यादुपस्पृश्य = स्यात् + उपस्पृश्य
Related Themes: Agni Purana: śauca/āśauca and ācamana rules in Dharma portions; śrāddha eligibility rules nearby
FAQs
It distinguishes two impurities—death-impurity (śāva-āśauca) and birth-impurity (sūtaka)—and states a practical rule: the father’s purification is achieved by simple water-touch/ācamana, while the mother bears the sūtaka.
Alongside theology and worship, the Agni Purana also preserves applied Dharma norms—household ritual law on purity/impurity—showing its coverage of social-religious procedure, not only mythic narrative.
It regulates participation in rites during periods of impurity, ensuring ritual acts are performed in a state of śauca (purity), which is traditionally held to protect the efficacy (phala) of worship and maintain dharmic order.