Agni Purana — Mantra-shastra, Shloka 25
वागीश्वरीपूजा
The Worship of Vāgīśvarī
अष्टहस्तं पुरा क्षेत्रं रसपक्षैर् विवर्तयेत् पञ्चभागमितेति ख , छ च द्विपदं कमलं मध्ये वीथिका पदिका ततः
aṣṭahastaṃ purā kṣetraṃ rasapakṣair vivartayet pañcabhāgamiteti kha , cha ca dvipadaṃ kamalaṃ madhye vīthikā padikā tataḥ
ပထမဦးစွာ ဟတ်တ (hasta) ရှစ်ခုအတိုင်း အကျယ်အဝန်းရှိသော နယ်မြေကို ချမှတ်၍၊ ၎င်း၏ ဘက်များကို ‘ရသ’ (rasa) ခွဲခြားမှုအတိုင်း လှည့်၍ သတ်မှတ်ရမည်။ kha နှင့် cha ဟု အမှတ်အသားပြုထားသော အပိုင်းများကို အပိုင်းငါးပိုင်းအတိုင်း တိုင်းတာရမည်။ အလယ်၌ dvipada (နှစ်ပဒ) ကြာပန်းကို ထားပြီး၊ ထို့နောက် vīthikā (လမ်းကြောင်း/အိုင်လ်) နှင့် padikā (လမ်းသွယ်) ကို စီစဉ်ရမည်။
Lord Agni (instructional narration in Agni Purana’s encyclopedic Vastu material)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Vastu","secondary_vidya":"Shilpa","practical_application":"Sacred site planning: measuring an 8-hasta plot, dividing sides by specified proportional scheme (rasa divisions), fixing sector measures (kha/cha), placing a central two-pada lotus, then laying out vīthikā and padikā circulation paths.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Procedure","entry_title":"Kṣetra-nirmāṇa: 8-hasta plot, rasa-divisions, central dvipada-kamala, vīthikā–padikā layout","lookup_keywords":["aṣṭa-hasta-kṣetra","rasa-pakṣa-vibhāga","kha-cha-bhāga","dvipada-kamala","vīthikā-padikā"],"quick_summary":"Measure the plot to eight hastas, apply proportional side-divisions, set specified sector measures, install a central two-pada lotus, and then arrange the aisle/street (vīthikā) and footpath (padikā) for orderly sacred circulation."}
Concept: Proportion (māna) and centered mandala-order (madhya-padma) create auspicious, functional sacred space.
Application: Use standardized measures (hasta, bhāga, pada) to draft reliable plans for shrines/ritual grounds and to guide movement via vīthikā/padikā.
Khanda Section: Vastu-shastra (Kshetra-nirmana / Mandala-vinyasa for sacred layouts)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A sthapati draws an 8-hasta square plot, marks proportional divisions and named sectors (kha/cha), places a central two-pada lotus, then sketches surrounding vīthikā and padikā paths.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, architect-sage with palm-leaf and stylus, floor-plan shown as bold geometric diagram with central lotus, vīthikā/padikā rings, earthy tones and ornamental borders","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, gold-accented sacred plan with central lotus medallion, sthapati presenting the layout to patrons, rich decorative frame, emphasis on auspicious center","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style, clean technical plan view with measurements (hasta, bhāga, pada) subtly indicated, central dvipada lotus, vīthikā and padikā clearly separated, fine linework","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, courtly patronage scene: architect unrolls a site plan with central lotus and pathways, assistants with measuring rods, detailed textiles and architectural backdrop"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":null,"pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: रसपक्षैर् → रसपक्षैः (रेफ्-सन्धि); पञ्चभागमितेति → पञ्चभागमित + इति
Related Themes: Agni Purana vāstu chapters on kṣetra-parīkṣā, pada-vinyāsa, prāsāda-maṇḍala, vīthī-lakṣaṇa
FAQs
It teaches Vastu-style site planning: fixing an eight-hasta plot, dividing it by technical segments (rasa-based partitioning), placing a central two-pada lotus diagram, and arranging lanes (vīthikā) and footpaths (padikā) as part of a sacred layout.
Beyond mythology, the Agni Purana preserves practical canons of architecture and spatial design—measurement systems (hasta, bhāga), grid-units (pada), and mandala motifs—showing its breadth as a manual of applied sciences like Vastu.
Correctly measured and mandala-aligned space is treated as ritually efficacious: the ordered central lotus and properly arranged pathways are understood to support purity, auspiciousness, and the intended merit of worship performed in that constructed area.