Agni Purana — Raja-dharma, Shloka 5
Chapter 246 — वास्तुलक्षणम्
Characteristics of Building-sites / Vāstu
दक्षिणेन विवस्वांश् च मित्रः पश्चिमतस् तथा उदङ्महीधरश् चैव आपवत्सौ च वह्निगे
dakṣiṇena vivasvāṃś ca mitraḥ paścimatas tathā udaṅmahīdharaś caiva āpavatsau ca vahnige
တောင်ဘက်၌ ဝိဝස්ဝါန် (Vivasvān) ရှိ၏။ အနောက်ဘက်၌လည်း မိတ္တရ (Mitra) ရှိ၏။ မြောက်ဘက်၌ မဟီဓရ (Mahīdhara) ရှိပြီး၊ မီးထောင့် (အဂ္နိဒိဂ်) တွင် အာပဝတ္စ (Āpavatsa) လည်း သက်ဆိုင်သည်ဟု ဆို၏၊ အဂ္နိရေ။
Lord Agni (narrating to Sage Vasiṣṭha in the Agni Purana’s standard dialogue frame)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Jyotisha","secondary_vidya":"Vastu","practical_application":"Directional deity assignment for nyāsa and vāstu-maṇḍala: mapping specific deities to south/west/north and the fire-quarter for ritual protection and spatial zoning.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"List","entry_title":"Dik-devatā placements: Vivasvān (south), Mitra (west), Mahīdhara (north), Āpavatsa (Agni-quarter)","lookup_keywords":["dikpāla-nyāsa","Vivasvān","Mitra","Mahīdhara","Āpavatsa","vāstu directions"],"quick_summary":"Assigns named deities to directions for ritual and architectural orientation: Vivasvān to the south, Mitra to the west, Mahīdhara to the north, and Āpavatsa to the fire-quarter. Used in nyāsa, protective rites, and vāstu zoning."}
Concept: Cosmic forces are organized through dik (direction) correspondences; spatial alignment is a practical theology.
Application: During vāstu-nyāsa or planning, invoke/assign these deities to their quarters to maintain auspicious balance and protection.
Khanda Section: Jyotisha / Dikpala-Nyasa and Mandala-Devata (Directional Deities in ritual placement)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: śānta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A compass-like mandala with labeled quarters: south marked Vivasvān (sun), west Mitra, north Mahīdhara (earth-supporting), and the fire-quarter marked Āpavatsa; priest performs nyāsa around a site-plan.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: circular directional diagram around a square vāstu plan; stylized deity emblems—sun disk for Vivasvān, friendly royal figure for Mitra, mountain/earth bearer for Mahīdhara, water-and-fire motif for Āpavatsa; bold outlines, temple aesthetic.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: ornate directional mandala with gold leaf on cardinal markers; deity symbols in each quarter; rich reds and greens; central plan diagram framed with traditional motifs.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: precise instructional compass with quarters labeled; small vignettes of each deity’s emblem; clean layout suitable for teaching dik-nyāsa.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature: refined diagrammatic scene with a scholar-priest indicating directions on a parchment map; quarters tinted; delicate icon-emblems for each deity; architectural site in background."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Hamsadhwani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: udaṅmahīdharaś caiva → udak mahīdharaḥ ca eva; caiva → ca eva. ‘vahnige’ is retained as given; interpreted as locative singular of vahni, though the passage may have variant readings.
Related Themes: Agni Purāṇa: vāstu-maṇḍala devatā lists continuing in the same chapter; Agni Purāṇa: śānti/nyāsa procedures where dik-devatās are invoked
FAQs
It assigns specific deities to specific directions (south, west, north, and the fire-quarter) for use in ritual nyāsa/mandala arrangement.
It preserves a technical catalog of ritual-directional correspondences (dik-devatā mapping), a practical reference used alongside mantra, mandala, and temple/altar procedures.
Correct directional placement is taught as a means to harmonize the rite with cosmic order (ṛta), supporting purity, protection, and the intended efficacy (siddhi) of worship.