Agni Purana — Raja-dharma, Shloka 11
Adhyaya 222 — राजधर्माः
Rājadharmāḥ): Duties of Kings (Administrative Order, Protection, and Revenue Ethics
धर्मागमो रक्षणाच्च पापमाप्नोत्यरक्षणात् सुभगा विटभीतेव राजवल्लभतस्करैः
dharmāgamo rakṣaṇācca pāpamāpnotyarakṣaṇāt subhagā viṭabhīteva rājavallabhataskaraiḥ
ကာကွယ်ခြင်းဖြင့် ဓမ္မသည် တည်မြဲရ၏၊ မကာကွယ်လျှင် အပြစ်ကို ရရှိ၏—ပွဲစားမိန်းမကို ကြောက်သော ကံကောင်းသည့် မိန်းမတစ်ဦးကဲ့သို့၊ မင်း၏ အချစ်တော်များနှင့် သူခိုးများကလည်း ခြိမ်းခြောက်ကြသည်။
Lord Agni (instructional narration in the Agni Purana’s rājadharma/nīti section)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Arthashastra","secondary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","practical_application":"Teaches that protection is the root of public order and dharma; negligence multiplies threats from intermediaries, elites, and criminals—useful for anti-corruption and policing policy.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Commentary","entry_title":"Rakṣaṇa as the source of dharma; arakṣaṇa as the source of pāpa","lookup_keywords":["rakṣaṇa","arakṣaṇa","pāpa","rājavalabha","taskara"],"quick_summary":"Protection preserves dharma; failure to protect generates sin and exposes the vulnerable to exploitation by brokers, royal favorites, and thieves."}
Alamkara Type: Upama
Concept: State protection is a dharmic instrument; absence of protection is itself adharma producing pāpa.
Application: Strengthen safeguards for vulnerable groups; regulate intermediaries; curb ‘favorites’ (patronage networks) and theft through impartial enforcement.
Khanda Section: Rājadharma / Nīti-śāstra (Governance, protection, and consequences of negligence)
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A vulnerable woman-like figure symbolizing the people, surrounded by a procuress-like broker, arrogant royal favorites, and lurking thieves; the king’s protective presence determines safety.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, allegorical female figure as ‘prajā’ at center, three threats around—broker woman, jeweled courtiers, masked thieves—king as guardian at one side, bold outlines and moral storytelling panel.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style, central ‘prajā’ figure with ornate jewelry, gold-leaf highlights on courtiers, darker thieves at edges, king’s protective hand gesture (abhaya-like) as dharma symbolism.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, clean narrative compartments: (1) protection leading to dharma, (2) neglect leading to harassment by intermediaries/favorites/thieves; fine shading and instructional clarity.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, street-and-court juxtaposition: courtiers extorting, thieves in alley, broker negotiating; the king’s patrol absent/present as the turning point; rich architectural detail."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"didactic","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: dharmāgamo → dharma + āgamaḥ; rakṣaṇācca → rakṣaṇāt + ca; pāpamāpnoty- → pāpam + āpnoti; āpnotyarakṣaṇāt → āpnoti + arakṣaṇāt; viṭabhīteव → viṭabhītā + iva; rājavallabhataskaraiḥ is a compound in instrumental plural.
Related Themes: Agni Purana Nīti passages on daṇḍa (punishment) and the king’s duty to restrain amātyas and upajīvins; Agni Purana sections on social order and protection of women/weak
FAQs
It imparts nīti/rajadharma knowledge: a ruler’s core technical duty is rakṣaṇa (protection); neglect (arakṣaṇa) is itself a source of pāpa (moral/legal fault).
It shows the Agni Purana’s coverage of practical statecraft: beyond rituals and theology, it codifies governance principles—public security, accountability, and the ethics of administration.
Protection sustains dharma and yields merit, while negligence generates pāpa; the verse frames governance failures as karmically consequential, not merely administrative mistakes.