Agni Purana — Vyavahara, Shloka 17
वाक्पारुष्यादिप्रकरणम्
The Topic of Verbal Abuse and Related Offences
चेष्टाभोजनवाग्रोधे नेत्रादिप्रतिभेदने कन्धराबाहुसक्थ्याञ्च भङ्गे मध्यमसाहसः
ceṣṭābhojanavāgrodhe netrādipratibhedane kandharābāhusakthyāñca bhaṅge madhyamasāhasaḥ
လှုပ်ရှားမှု၊ အစားအစာ သို့မဟုတ် စကားပြောခြင်းကို တားဆီးခြင်း၊ မျက်စိစသည့် အင်္ဂါအစိတ်အပိုင်းများကို ထိခိုက်စေခြင်း၊ လည်ပင်း၊ လက်မောင်းနှင့် ပေါင်ရိုး ကျိုးပဲ့စေခြင်းတို့ကို «အလယ်အဆင့် အကြမ်းဖက်မှု» (madhyama-sāhasa) ဟု သတ်မှတ်သည်။
Lord Agni (in discourse to Sage Vasiṣṭha)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Ayurveda","practical_application":"Defines middle-grade violent offences including coercive restraint (blocking movement/food/speech), organ injury (eyes etc.), and major fractures, aiding courts and physicians in categorizing harm and assigning penalties.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Definition","entry_title":"Madhyama-sāhasa: coercive restraint, organ injury, and major fractures","lookup_keywords":["ceṣṭā-nirodha","bhoga-nirodha","vāk-nirodha","netra-pratibhedana","kandharā-bāhu-sakthi-bhaṅga"],"quick_summary":"Acts that restrain a person’s basic functions (movement, eating, speaking), injure vital organs like the eyes, or break major limbs/neck are classified as madhyama-sāhasa for enhanced punishment."}
Concept: Dharma safeguards agency and bodily function; coercive deprivation and disabling injury are serious wrongs.
Application: Courts treat functional obstruction (food/speech/movement) as violence; medical testimony on impairment supports sentencing.
Khanda Section: Rajadharma & Vyavahara (Law, Crimes, and Punishments)
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A sequence: a victim’s path is blocked and mouth covered (speech/food obstruction), then an eye injury, then a fracture of arm/thigh/neck; the judge labels it madhyama-sāhasa.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, narrative frieze showing restraint and injury scenes with a concluding court judgment; expressive gestures, traditional costumes, strong contour lines","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore, gilded court with inset vignettes: blocking movement, covering mouth, eye injury, fractured limb; gold leaf borders and jewel-toned palette","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, didactic panels with clear labeling of ceṣṭā/bhojana/vāk-nirodha and netra injury; anatomical clarity for fractures; calm instructional composition","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, urban scene of coercion and injury with a later durbar adjudication; fine detailing of faces, textiles, and medical bandaging"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Kafi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: वाग्रोधे → वाक् + रोधे. नेत्रादिप्रतिभेदने → नेत्र + आदि + प्रतिभेदने. सक्थ्याञ्च → सक्थ्याम् + च (anusvāra/yaṇ sandhi).
Related Themes: Agni Purana 257 (madhyama-sāhasa and related fines/penalties)
FAQs
It imparts vyavahāra-vidyā (legal-judicial knowledge): the technical definition of madhyama-sāhasa—medium-grade assault—by listing specific actionable injuries and restraints.
Alongside ritual and theology, the Agni Purana preserves practical governance material: a dharmaśāstra-like catalogue of offences (injury, restraint, fracture) used for adjudication and proportionate punishment.
By classifying harm to others as a punishable offence, it reinforces dharma: causing injury or unlawfully restraining another accrues negative karma, while just restraint and proportionate punishment support social order (dharma) and reduce adharma.