Agni Purana — Mantra-shastra, Shloka 8
Chapter 326 — देवालयमाहात्म्यम्
The Glory of Temples
गीतः पञ्चाक्षरो वेदे लोके गीतःषडक्षरः ओमित्यन्ते स्थितः शम्भुर्मुद्रार्थं वटवीजवत्
gītaḥ pañcākṣaro vede loke gītaḥṣaḍakṣaraḥ omityante sthitaḥ śambhurmudrārthaṃ vaṭavījavat
ဝေဒတွင် (ရှိဝ) မန္တရကို ငါးအက္ခရာဟု သင်ကြားထားပြီး၊ လူ့လောကအလေ့အထတွင် ခြောက်အက္ခရာဟု သင်ကြားကြသည်။ အဆုံးတွင် «အိုမ်» ကို ထည့်သွင်းထားလျှင်၊ ရှမ္ဘု (ရှိဝ) သည် ထိုနေရာ၌ တည်မြဲလာသည်—ဗညားပင်၏ မျိုးစေ့ကဲ့သို့—မုဒြာ (ရိတုအမှတ်/ဟန်ချက်) ၏ ရည်ရွယ်ချက်ကို ပြည့်စုံစေသည်။
Lord Agni (narrating to Sage Vasiṣṭha, as per the common Agni Purāṇa dialogue frame)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Mantra","secondary_vidya":"Tantra","practical_application":"Choosing pañcākṣara vs ṣaḍakṣara forms of the Śiva-mantra; integrating praṇava (Oṃ) as a bīja-like seal for mudrā-siddhi.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Definition","entry_title":"Pañcākṣara–Ṣaḍakṣara Śiva-mantra and Praṇava Placement","lookup_keywords":["pañcākṣara","ṣaḍakṣara","praṇava","oṃ placement","mudrārtha"],"quick_summary":"Distinguishes Vedic five-syllable and popular six-syllable Śiva-mantra usage, and teaches that adding Oṃ at the end establishes Śambhu there like a banyan-seed bīja, fulfilling the mudrā’s intent."}
Alamkara Type: Upama
Concept: Mantra is structured sound (varṇa-krama) whose efficacy depends on authorized form and placement; praṇava functions as a bīja concentrating divinity.
Application: In ritual manuals, specify the mantra form (5/6 syllables) and the praṇava’s position to match the intended mudrā/nyāsa outcome.
Khanda Section: Mantra-vidya & Tantra (Mudra–Mantra classification; Pranava integration)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A teacher demonstrates mantra syllable-counting on a rosary, showing pañcākṣara and ṣaḍakṣara forms, then placing Oṃ as a final seed-syllable, illustrated by a banyan seed motif.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: guru and disciple seated, palm-leaf manuscript open with syllables, rosary in hand, stylized banyan tree with tiny seed glowing near the mantra text, warm ochres and greens.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: central mantra panel with ‘namaḥ śivāya’ and ‘oṃ’ highlighted in gold, banyan seed icon as bīja, guru figure with halo-like arch, rich gold embossing.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: clean didactic composition—syllable boxes (5 vs 6), arrow showing Oṃ appended, small banyan seed diagram; delicate lines, pastel wash, clarity of instruction.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature: scholarly setting with manuscripts and beads, fine calligraphy-like rendering of syllables, banyan tree in background symbolizing bīja, detailed textiles and cushions."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional-contemplative","suggested_raga":"Yaman","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: गीतःषडक्षरः = गीतः + षडक्षरः. ओमित्यन्ते = ओम् + इति + अन्ते. शम्भुर्मुद्रार्थं = शम्भुः + मुद्रार्थम्.
Related Themes: Agni Purana 326 (mantra classification; praṇava integration; mudrā/nyāsa context)
FAQs
It classifies the Śiva-mantra as five-syllabled in Vedic usage and six-syllabled in popular practice, and instructs how appending Oṃ at the end functions ritually—supporting the mudrā’s intended operative effect in worship/mantra-prayoga.
It preserves a technical crosswalk between Vedic mantra-forms and later ritual (tantric/temple) praxis—showing the Purāṇa’s role as a handbook that codifies mantra-structure, pronunciation conventions, and practical ritual mechanics (mudrā–mantra linkage).
Correct mantra-formation (including the placement of Oṃ) is presented as activating Śiva’s presence effectively; like a banyan seed containing immense potency, a properly sealed (mudrā-aligned) mantra is held to yield concentrated spiritual fruit and purification.