Agni Purana — Yoga & Brahma-vidya, Shloka 14
Chapter 381 — यमगीता
Yama-gītā
नास्ति विष्णुसमन्ध्येयं तपो नानशनात्परं नास्त्यारोग्यसमं धन्यं नास्ति गङ्गासमा सरित्
nāsti viṣṇusamandhyeyaṃ tapo nānaśanātparaṃ nāstyārogyasamaṃ dhanyaṃ nāsti gaṅgāsamā sarit
ဗိဿနုနှင့် တူညီသော သမ္မတိ (တရားထိုင်ရန် အာရုံ) မရှိ။ အစာမစားခြင်းထက် မြင့်သော တပဿ မရှိ။ ကျန်းမာရေးနှင့် တူသော ကောင်းချီးမရှိ။ ဂင်္ဂါမြစ်နှင့် တူသော မြစ်မရှိ။
Lord Agni (narrating the Agni Purana’s dharma teachings, traditionally to Vasiṣṭha)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Vrata","secondary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","practical_application":"Prioritization of core practices: Viṣṇu-dhyāna, fasting as tapas, health as supreme blessing, and Gaṅgā as foremost sacred river for pilgrimage and purification.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"List","entry_title":"Catuṣṭaya-śreṣṭhatā (Four Supreme Comparisons: Dhyeya, Tapas, Dhanya, Sarit)","lookup_keywords":["Viṣṇu-dhyāna","anāśana","ārogya","Gaṅgā","tīrtha-māhātmya"],"quick_summary":"The verse ranks: Viṣṇu as the highest meditation-object, fasting as the highest austerity, health as the highest blessing, and Gaṅgā as the highest river—guiding practice and pilgrimage choices."}
Alamkara Type: Anaphora (repetition of ‘nāsti…samam/param’)
Concept: Dharma is supported by right objects of contemplation and disciplined restraint; bodily well-being is affirmed as a supreme auspicious good enabling sādhanā.
Application: Choose Viṣṇu as iṣṭa-dhyeya; practice periodic upavāsa (fasting) with discernment; protect health as the basis for dharma; undertake Gaṅgā-tīrtha for purification rites.
Khanda Section: Dharma–Tirtha–Mahātmya (Praise of sacred practices and sacred rivers)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhakti
Type: River
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Four-panel tableau: (1) devotee meditating on Viṣṇu, (2) ascetic fasting with a water pot, (3) healthy radiant person symbolizing ārogya, (4) Gaṅgā river with pilgrims bathing and offering lamps.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, segmented narrative bands: Viṣṇu-dhyāna scene with conch-disc symbols, fasting ascetic, radiant healthy figure, Gaṅgā with bathers and temple ghats; earthy pigments and bold outlines.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, central Viṣṇu in gold-embossed arch; below, small vignettes: upavāsa ascetic, person with auspicious glow for ārogya, Gaṅgā with lamps and lotuses; heavy gold work.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style, clean didactic layout with four labeled scenes, soft colors, fine ornament, emphasis on clarity of practices (dhyāna, upavāsa, health, tīrtha-snāna).","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, riverfront ghat of Gaṅgā with pilgrims, alongside a quiet pavilion where a devotee meditates on Viṣṇu; delicate architecture, detailed water ripples, balanced composition."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"devotional","suggested_raga":"Ganga (if available) or Bhairavi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"devotional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: nāsti → na + asti; viṣṇusamandhyeyam → viṣṇu-samaṃ + andhyeyam; nānaśanātparaṃ → na + anaśanāt + param; nāstyārogyasamaṃ → na + asti + ārogya-samam.
Related Themes: Agni Purana tīrtha-māhātmya passages (Gaṅgā praise); Agni Purana vrata sections (upavāsa/anāśana); Agni Purana Viṣṇu-stuti/dhyāna materials
FAQs
It ranks practical disciplines: meditate on Viṣṇu as the सर्वोत्तम ध्येय (supreme focus), treat fasting (anaśana) as a premier form of tapas, value health (ārogya) as the most auspicious ‘wealth,’ and honor the Gaṅgā as the foremost tīrtha-river.
In one compact verse it synthesizes multiple domains—upāsanā (meditation theology), vrata/tapas (ritual-ascetic practice), ārogya (a health-centric value aligned with Ayurvedic priorities), and tīrtha-mahātmya (sacred geography)—showing the Purāṇa’s cross-disciplinary scope.
It directs merit (puṇya) toward four high-impact supports of dharma: Viṣṇu-centered contemplation, self-restraint through fasting, preservation of health as a dharmic asset, and purification/merit associated with the Gaṅgā as the supreme sacred river.