Agni Purana — Mantra-shastra, Shloka 18
Chapter 303: Mantras for Worship Beginning with the Five-syllable (Pañcākṣara) — पञ्चाक्षरादिपूजामन्त्राः
व्यापकं न्यस्य मूर्धादि मूलमङ्गानि विन्यसेत् रक्तपीतश्यामसितान् पीठपादान् स्वकालजान्
vyāpakaṃ nyasya mūrdhādi mūlamaṅgāni vinyaset raktapītaśyāmasitān pīṭhapādān svakālajān
အရင်ဆုံး အလုံးစုံပျံ့နှံ့သော ဝျာပက (Vyāpaka) ကို နျာသတင်သွင်းပြီးနောက်၊ ခေါင်းမှ စ၍ မူလအင်္ဂါများကို တင်သွင်းရမည်။ ထို့ပြင် ပီဋ္ဌ (pīṭha) နှင့် ပါဒ (pāda) များကို အနီ၊ အဝါ၊ အပြာမဲ/အနက်၊ အဖြူ ဟူသော အရောင်များဖြင့် မိမိတို့၏ သတ်မှတ်ကာလ (kāla) အတိုင်း တည်စေ။
Lord Agni (in discourse to the sage Vasiṣṭha, as per the common Agni Purāṇa narration frame)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Tantra","secondary_vidya":"Mantra","practical_application":"Perform vyāpaka-nyāsa (all-pervading principle) first, then mūla-aṅga nyāsa from head onward; install pīṭhas/pādas with specified colors and time-phases (kāla) as per the system.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Procedure","entry_title":"Vyāpaka-nyāsa, Mūla-aṅga-nyāsa, and Kāla-based Pīṭha/Pāda Installation","lookup_keywords":["vyāpaka-nyāsa","mūla-aṅga","pīṭha","pāda","kāla"],"quick_summary":"Begin with the all-pervading installation, then place root-limbs from the head; next install pīṭhas and pādas with color-coding and their prescribed temporal order."}
Concept: Ritual embodiment proceeds from the universal (vyāpaka) to the particular (mūla-aṅgas), integrating spatial loci (pīṭha/pāda) with temporal regulation (kāla).
Application: In advanced nyāsa, maintain hierarchy: pervasion first, then limb-roots, then seat/footing stations aligned to the rite’s time-cycle.
Khanda Section: Puja-vidhi / Tantra (Nyasa and internal installation of deities in the body)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A meditator visualizes an all-pervading field of light enveloping the body, then sequentially lights up head and other root-limbs; around the body appear colored pīṭha/pāda stations emerging in timed phases.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, seated sādhaka with a large luminous aura (vyāpaka), body marked with glowing points from head downward, surrounding ring of four colored stations (rakta, pīta, śyāma, sita) with rhythmic motif suggesting time-cycle.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore, central figure with expansive gold halo for vyāpaka, ornate lotus pedestal, four colored pīṭha/pāda emblems around, gold embossing emphasizing pervasion.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style, clean instructional depiction of sequence: pervading aura layer, then numbered limb points, then colored station icons; soft background and precise detailing.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, refined aura wash around the figure, delicate colored cartouches representing pīṭhas/pādas, subtle clock-like border indicating kāla order."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Shree","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"contemplative"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: mūlamaṅgāni → mūla + aṅgāni.
Related Themes: Agni Purana 303.16 (color mapping); Agni Purana 303.19 (mandala and guṇa installation)
FAQs
It teaches nyāsa: first installing the Vyāpaka (all-pervading) mantra/principle, then placing mantric stations on the body from the head through the root-limbs, and finally installing the pīṭhas and pādas with color-coded assignments tied to prescribed ritual timing (kāla).
It preserves a precise, procedure-oriented tantric/ritual technology—mapping sacred centers (pīṭhas) and quarters/sections (pādas) onto the practitioner’s body—showing the Agni Purāṇa’s coverage beyond mythology into applied liturgy and mantra-practice.
By orderly nyāsa aligned with proper time (kāla), the practitioner ritually purifies and sacralizes the body as a mandala, supporting focused worship, inner steadiness, and the merit associated with correctly performed mantra-vidhi.