Agni Purana — Yoga & Brahma-vidya, Shloka 34
Chapter 369 — शरीरावयवाः
The Limbs/Organs and Constituents of the Body
अष्टषष्टिस्तु शाखासु षष्टिश् चैकविवर्जिता अन्तरा वै त्र्यशीतिश् च स्नायोर् नवशतानि च
aṣṭaṣaṣṭistu śākhāsu ṣaṣṭiś caikavivarjitā antarā vai tryaśītiś ca snāyor navaśatāni ca
လက်ခြေတို့သော အင်္ဂါအစိတ်အပိုင်းများ (śākhā) တွင် အရိုး ၆၈ ခုရှိသည်။ ကိုယ်ခန္ဓာအလယ်ပိုင်းတွင် ၆၀ ခုရှိသော်လည်း တစ်ခုကို ချန်လှပ်၍ ရေတွက်သည်။ အလယ်အလတ်ပိုင်းများတွင် ၈၃ ခုရှိပြီး၊ ကြောတင်းများ (snāyu) သည် ၉၀၀ ခု ဖြစ်သည်။
Lord Agni (in discourse to Vasiṣṭha, as per the usual Agni Purana dialogue frame)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Ayurveda","secondary_vidya":"Samanya","practical_application":"Bone and sinew enumeration for śārīra-śikṣā; supports marma awareness, injury assessment, and understanding musculoskeletal integrity.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"List","entry_title":"Śākhā-madhya-antara asthi-saṅkhyā and snāyu-saṅkhyā","lookup_keywords":["śākhā-asthi","madhya-asthi","antara-asthi","snāyu","śārīra-saṅkhyā"],"quick_summary":"Enumerates bones by regions (limbs, trunk, intermediate parts) and gives a total count of sinews (snāyu) as a memorized anatomical standard."}
Concept: Body knowledge as structured enumeration (aṅga-vibhāga) enabling applied medical competence.
Application: Curricular scaffold for students: region-wise recall of asthi and snāyu.
Khanda Section: Ayurveda / Sharira-rachana (Anatomy and physiological enumeration)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Regional body map dividing limbs, trunk, and intermediate parts, with bone counts and sinew network indicated like cords across joints.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: stylized human figure segmented into śākhā, madhya, antara zones with decorative borders; sinews drawn as flowing white lines; guru reciting counts from palm-leaf; warm ochres and greens.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: ornate instructional panel with gold outlines; three-part body segmentation; sinews shown as gilded threads; inscriptions of numbers; teacher and student at bottom with rich textile patterns.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: diagrammatic clarity—limbs/trunk/intermediate labeled; sinew lines in fine ink; soft color wash; minimal ornament; emphasis on educational chart aesthetics.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature: physician’s studio with anatomical scroll; figure drawn with delicate sinew tracery; assistants taking notes; fine borders and calligraphy for śākhā/madhya/antara and snāyu count."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Kalyani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: aṣṭaṣaṣṭiḥ = aṣṭa + ṣaṣṭiḥ; aṣṭaṣaṣṭistu = aṣṭaṣaṣṭiḥ + tu; śaṣṭiś ca = ṣaṣṭiḥ + ca; caikavivarjitā = ca + eka-vivarjitā; tryaśītiḥ = tri + aśītiḥ; snāyor = snāyoḥ (visarga→r before voiced consonant); navaśatāni = nava + śatāni.
Related Themes: Agni Purana 369.33 (asthi/sandhi counts); Agni Purana 369.36 (peśī counts)
FAQs
It imparts anatomical enumeration (śarīra-saṅkhyā)—a technical Ayurvedic-style listing of counts for bones/segments in limbs, trunk, intermediate regions, and the number of snāyu (sinews/ligaments).
By preserving systematic, quasi-medical body-taxonomies (counts and classifications of structures), the Agni Purana functions as a compendium that extends beyond myth into applied knowledge domains such as Ayurveda and anatomy.
Such anatomical knowledge supports disciplined self-understanding and purity-oriented practice: knowing the body’s constituents aids detachment and correct observance in health, ritual fitness, and sādhana grounded in awareness of embodied nature.