Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 8
Chapter 164: नवग्रहहोमः
Navagraha Fire-Offering
अर्कः पालाशः खदिरो ह्य् अपामार्गोथ पिप्पलः उदुम्बरः शमी दुर्वा कुशाश् च समिधः क्रमात्
arkaḥ pālāśaḥ khadiro hy apāmārgotha pippalaḥ udumbaraḥ śamī durvā kuśāś ca samidhaḥ kramāt
အစဉ်လိုက် သတ်မှတ်ထားသော မီးထိုးသစ်တံ (samidh) များမှာ—အရ္က (arka), ပလာရှ (palāśa), ခဒိရ (khadira), အပာမာရ္ဂ (apāmārga), ပိပ္ပလ (pippala), ဥဒုမ္ဗရ (udumbara), ရှမီ (śamī) နှင့် ဒုရ္ဝာမြက် (durvā)၊ ကုရှမြက် (kuśa) တို့ ဖြစ်သည်။
Lord Agni (instructing sage Vasiṣṭha in ritual procedure)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Mantra","secondary_vidya":"Samanya","practical_application":"Selection of specific samidh (kindling woods and grasses) in correct sequence for homa to ensure ritual efficacy and conformity to vidhi.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"List","entry_title":"Samidh-krama: prescribed kindling materials for homa","lookup_keywords":["samidh","arka","palāśa","khadira","apāmārga"],"quick_summary":"Gives an ordered list of woods/grasses used as kindling in fire ritual; supports standardized procurement and correct sequencing in homa."}
Concept: Ritual correctness (vidhi) includes material correctness; dravya-śuddhi and krama are part of yajña-śakti.
Application: Prepare homa supplies by verifying species and maintaining an ordered bundle for sequential offering.
Khanda Section: Agni-vidhi / Homa-dravya (Vedic fire ritual materials and procedures)
Primary Rasa: Adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: Shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A ritual assistant arranges bundles of arka, palāśa, khadira, apāmārga, pippala, udumbara, śamī twigs, with durvā and kuśa grasses, beside a homa fire-pit in a clear sequence.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, homa-kuṇḍa with stylized flames, neatly stacked labeled samidh bundles (arka, palāśa, khadira, apāmārga, pippala, udumbara, śamī), durvā and kuśa in green arcs, priests in white, earthy reds/ochres","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, altar foreground, ornate vessels, gold-highlighted bundles of sacred woods, kuśa and durvā rendered with fine green detailing, priest holding samidh, gold halo around Agni flame","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, semi-diagrammatic layout showing the order (krama) of samidh placement, clean lines, soft colors, instructional labels, calm ritual interior","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, detailed botanical rendering of twigs and grasses, attendants sorting bundles on a carpeted platform near a small fire altar, fine borders and naturalistic textures"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional-ritual","suggested_raga":"Hamsadhwani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: ह्य् = हि (before vowel); अपामार्गोथ = अपामार्गः + अथ; कुशाश् = कुशाः (final visarga/sandhi normalization).
Related Themes: Agni Purana: Agni-vidhi and homa-dravya listings (contextual); Agni Purana: Pūjā-vidhi sections on dravya-śuddhi (contextual)
FAQs
It gives a technical, ordered list of approved samidh (fuel/kindling) materials to be offered into the homa fire—specific trees and sacred grasses used in Vedic-style ritual combustion.
By cataloging precise ritual resources (botanical fuel types) and their correct sequence for use, it functions like a practical manual—one of the many applied-knowledge domains (puja-vidhi, yajña procedure) covered alongside other sciences in the text.
Using prescribed samidh is treated as a correctness condition for homa: it supports ritual purity, aligns the offering with śāstric injunction, and is understood to enhance the efficacy and merit (puṇya) of the sacrifice.