Agni Purana — Raja-dharma, Shloka 3
Chapter 238 — राजधर्माः (Rājadharmāḥ) | Duties of Kings
अविसंवादिता सत्यं वृद्धसेवा कृतज्ञता दैवसम्पन्नता बुद्धिरक्षुद्रपरिवारता
avisaṃvāditā satyaṃ vṛddhasevā kṛtajñatā daivasampannatā buddhirakṣudraparivāratā
စကားနှင့်အလုပ် မကွဲလွဲသော သစ္စာတည်မှု၊ သစ္စာကို အခြေခံ၍ နေထိုင်ခြင်း၊ အိုမင်းသူများကို စောင့်ရှောက်ဝန်ဆောင်ခြင်း၊ ကျေးဇူးသိတတ်ခြင်း၊ နတ်ဘုရားကံကောင်းခြင်း (दैवसम्पन्नता) ရှိခြင်း၊ ဉာဏ်ပညာ၊ နှင့် အနိမ့်မကျသော မိတ်ဆွေဝန်းကျင်ရှိခြင်း—ဤတို့သည် (ကောင်းမြတ်) ဂုဏ်တရားများ ဖြစ်သည်။
Lord Agni (in dialogue with sage Vasiṣṭha)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Arthashastra","practical_application":"Ethical screening for rulers/officials: cultivate and test truth-consistency, elder-service, gratitude, discernment, and noble associations to stabilize governance and public trust.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"List","entry_title":"Core virtues: truth-consistency, elder-service, gratitude, intelligence, noble associates","lookup_keywords":["avisamvadita","satya","vriddha-seva","kritajnata","akshudra-parivara"],"quick_summary":"Public life rests on integrity and character: align speech and action, honor elders, repay benefactors, keep wise judgment, and maintain a noble circle."}
Concept: Satya as avisaṃvāditā (non-contradiction between word and deed) and the social dharma of honoring elders and benefactors; saṅga (company) shapes character.
Application: Personal governance: keep promises, document commitments, practice daily elder-respect/service, maintain gratitude ledgers (repay teachers/benefactors), avoid base entourages that corrupt judgment.
Khanda Section: Rajadharma / Sadachara (Ethics and Conduct)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: vira
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A dignified courtier demonstrates truthfulness by matching spoken words with a written pledge; he serves an elder with water and seat, offers gifts in gratitude, and stands among refined companions while rejecting base associates.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, moral tableau in panels: vow-scroll and speech gesture, elder seated with attendant offering pādya, gratitude offering, noble companions in traditional attire, bold outlines and flat colors","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style, central figure with gold halo, elder-service scene with gold accents on vessels, gratitude offering with ornate jewelry, companions arranged symmetrically, rich gold work","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, didactic multi-scene composition with fine lines: pledge and action alignment, elder-service, gratitude gift, selective association; soft colors and clarity","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, refined social scenes: courtier presenting a signed document, serving an elder, gifting a patron, gathering of cultured men; detailed textiles and architecture"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Kalyani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"contemplative"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: buddhirakṣudraparivāratā = buddhiḥ + akṣudra-parivāratā (visarga sandhi: ḥ + a → r).
Related Themes: Agni Purana Sadācāra sections on satya, guru-vṛddha-sevā, saṅga-doṣa/saṅga-guṇa
FAQs
It imparts practical dharma-vidyā as a checklist of virtues—reliable truthfulness, service to elders, gratitude, sound judgment, and keeping noble company.
Alongside ritual, polity, and other sciences, the Agni Purana also codifies social ethics; this verse functions like a concise moral taxonomy used in rajadharma and sadācāra discussions.
These virtues purify conduct and intention, strengthening dharma and generating auspicious karma through truthful living, reverence to elders, and ethically guided associations.