Agni Purana — Yoga & Brahma-vidya, Shloka 21
Chapter 378: Brahma-jñāna
Knowledge of Brahman
शब्दास्ते कादिका धर्मास्तत् कृता वै महामुने तथात्मा प्रकृतौ सङ्गादहंमानादिभूषितः
śabdāste kādikā dharmāstat kṛtā vai mahāmune tathātmā prakṛtau saṅgādahaṃmānādibhūṣitaḥ
‘က’ မှစသော အသံတို့သည် အမှန်တကယ် ဓမ္မ(သတ်မှတ်စည်းကမ်း)များ ဖြစ်ကြောင်း မဟာမုနိရေ၊ ထုတ်ဖော်ထားပြီးဖြစ်၏။ ထို့ကြောင့် အတ္တသည် ပရကృతိနှင့် ကပ်ငြိမှုကြောင့် အဟံကာရ(ငါဟုခံယူမှု) စသည်တို့ဖြင့် ‘အလှဆင်’ ခံရ၏။
Lord Agni (narrating to Sage Vasiṣṭha)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Vyakarana","secondary_vidya":"Philosophy","practical_application":"Use śabda-śāstra (phoneme/rule systems) as a model for how ‘dharmas’ (defining properties) structure cognition; then apply the same analytic rigor to see how ahaṅkāra arises from prakṛti-saṅga.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Commentary","entry_title":"Kādika-śabda-dharmas and Ahaṅkāra from Prakṛti-saṅga","lookup_keywords":["kādika","śabda","dharma (lakṣaṇa)","ahaṅkāra","prakṛti-saṅga"],"quick_summary":"The verse gestures to ordered sound-units/rules (‘ka’ onward) as definitional principles, then parallels this with the Self appearing ‘adorned’ by ego and other evolutes due to association with prakṛti."}
Alamkara Type: Śleṣa
Concept: Śabda systems have defining ‘dharmas’; similarly, ego-sense and adjuncts are superimposed on the Self through prakṛti-association.
Application: Adopt a ‘grammar of experience’: identify components (sound/thought/meaning) and separate witness from constructs; reduce ahaṅkāra by observing ‘I’-thought as a prakṛti modification.
Khanda Section: Sahitya-shastra (Shabda-vidya / Vyakarana-oriented doctrinal summary)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A teacher-sage points to a palm-leaf chart of Sanskrit phonemes starting with ‘ka’, while a second panel shows a luminous Self overlaid by ornaments labeled ‘ahaṅkāra’, ‘māna’, etc., indicating superimposition.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, guru with stylus and palm-leaf phoneme grid (ka-kha-ga...), disciples attentive, symbolic overlay of ego-ornaments on a radiant figure, decorative script motifs","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore, guru with golden halo holding palm-leaf manuscript, phoneme wheel embellished with gold, radiant Self figure with removable jeweled ornaments labeled ahaṅkāra, rich temple-like framing","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, classroom-like śāstra scene: phoneme table clearly drawn, guru explaining articulation points, adjacent philosophical diagram of Self vs. prakṛti overlays, precise linework","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, scholarly assembly with manuscripts and inkpots, phoneme chart displayed, subtle allegorical figure with layered garments representing prakṛti and ego, intricate borders"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Saraswati","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: शब्दास्ते = शब्दाः ते; धर्मास्तत् = धर्माः तत्; तथात्मा = तथा आत्मा; सङ्गादहंमानादिभूषितः = सङ्गात् अहं-मान-आदि-भूषितः.
Related Themes: Agni Purana: Sahitya/Śabda-vidyā passages (grammar/poetics sections elsewhere in the Purana); Agni Purana: Moksha-dharma on ahaṅkāra and prakṛti (nearby 378.19–22)
FAQs
It conveys Śabda-vidyā: the phonemic order beginning with ‘ka’ is treated as a structured set of governing linguistic principles (dharmas), alongside a metaphysical note on how the Self appears conditioned through association with Prakṛti.
In a single verse it bridges technical linguistic categorization (phonemes/śabda-dharma) with Sāṃkhya-like metaphysics (Ātman’s apparent limitation via Prakṛti and ego), illustrating how the Agni Purana compiles multiple knowledge-systems in one text.
It points to the root of bondage: attachment to Prakṛti produces the ego-sense and allied limiting notions; recognizing this mechanism supports dis-identification from ahaṃmāna and aids liberation-oriented discernment.