Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 30
Mahāpātaka-ādi-kathana
Account of the Great Sins) — concluding note incl. ‘Mārjāra-vadha’ (killing of a cat
भक्षभोज्यापहरणे यानशय्यासनस्य च पुष्पमूलफलानाञ्च पञ्चगव्यं विशोधनं
bhakṣabhojyāpaharaṇe yānaśayyāsanasya ca puṣpamūlaphalānāñca pañcagavyaṃ viśodhanaṃ
စားနိုင်သော အစားအစာနှင့် ချက်ပြီးသော အစားအစာများကို ယူဆောင်သွားခြင်း၊ ထို့ပြင် ယာဉ်၊ အိပ်ရာ၊ ထိုင်ခုံနှင့် ပန်း၊ အမြစ်၊ အသီးတို့ကို ယူဆောင်သွားခြင်းအတွက် သန့်စင်ခြင်းသည် ပဉ္စဂဗျ (pañcagavya) ဖြင့် ပြုရမည်။
Lord Agni (narrating the dharma/prāyaścitta rules to the sage Vasiṣṭha)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Ayurveda","practical_application":"Using pañcagavya as a purification medium for specific categories of appropriation/theft (foods, conveyance, bed/seat, flowers/roots/fruits), indicating a standard śuddhi-dravya and its scope.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Formula","entry_title":"Pañcagavya as viśodhana for specified thefts/appropriations","lookup_keywords":["pañcagavya","viśodhana","bhakṣya-bhojya apaharaṇa","yāna-śayyā-āsana","puṣpa-mūla-phala"],"quick_summary":"For taking certain consumables and household/transport items, purification is prescribed through pañcagavya—an established purificatory mixture used in dharma-śuddhi contexts."}
Concept: Śuddhi can be mediated through sanctioned substances; material transgressions are met with material-ritual purification.
Application: Follow a recognized śuddhi protocol (here pañcagavya) to mark ethical reset and recommitment to non-appropriation.
Khanda Section: Prāyaścitta & Śuddhi-vidhi (Purification and Expiation Rules)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A ritual purification setup: a small vessel containing pañcagavya, a penitent receiving it under a priest’s supervision; symbolic items—food, cart, bed, seat, flowers, roots, fruits—arranged to show the covered categories.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, priest with kamaṇḍalu and bowl of pañcagavya; stylized cow motif in background; arranged offerings (fruits, flowers) and household items; earthy tones, ritual clarity.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore, gold-leaf accents on ritual vessels; cow emblem; neatly arranged items (seat, bed symbol, cart wheel); central act of purification with ornate framing.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, instructional still-life composition of items plus pañcagavya vessel; priest demonstrating; fine detailing suitable for procedural depiction.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, intimate indoor scene with scholar-priest and penitent; detailed metal vessel, fruits and flowers; architectural niche and patterned carpet."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Shuddha Saveri","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: भक्षभोज्यापहरणे → भक्ष + भोज्य + अपहरणे; यानशय्यासनस्य → यान + शय्या + आसनस्य; पुष्पमूलफलानाञ्च → पुष्पमूलफलानाम् + च.
Related Themes: Agni Purana 169 (śuddhi-vidhi and prāyaścitta substances)
FAQs
It prescribes pañcagavya as the purificatory remedy when one has wrongfully taken certain everyday items—foods, conveyances, bedding/seating, and natural produce like flowers, roots, and fruits.
It shows the text’s dharma-prāyaścitta layer: alongside cosmology and worship, the Agni Purana also catalogs practical legal-ritual procedures for restoring purity after specific social transgressions such as appropriation/theft.
The instruction frames wrongdoing as producing impurity (aśauca/pāpa) and teaches a concrete śuddhi rite—pañcagavya—to ritually neutralize the taint and re-establish dharmic standing.