Agni Purana — Avatara-lila, Shloka 16
Kūrma-avatāra-varṇana (The Description of the Tortoise Incarnation) — Samudra Manthana and the Reordering of Cosmic Prosperity
राहुर्मत्तस्तु चन्द्रार्कौ प्राप्स्येते ग्रहणं ग्रहः तस्मिन् कले च यद्दानं दास्यन्ते स्यात् तदक्षयं
rāhurmattastu candrārkau prāpsyete grahaṇaṃ grahaḥ tasmin kale ca yaddānaṃ dāsyante syāt tadakṣayaṃ
ਜਦੋਂ ਰਾਹੂ ਉਨਮੱਤ ਹੋ ਕੇ ਚੰਦਰ ਅਤੇ ਸੂਰਜ ਨੂੰ ਗ੍ਰਸ ਲੈਂਦਾ ਹੈ, ਇਹ ਗ੍ਰਹ ਵੱਲੋਂ ਹੋਇਆ ਗ੍ਰਹਣ ਕਿਹਾ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ। ਉਸ ਵੇਲੇ ਦਿੱਤਾ ਦਾਨ ਅਖੰਡ ਤੇ ਅਖਯ ਪੁੰਨ-ਫਲ ਦਿੰਦਾ ਹੈ।
Lord Agni (narrating to Sage Vasiṣṭha, typical Agni Purāṇa dialogue frame)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Jyotisha","secondary_vidya":"Dana-Dharma","practical_application":"Grahaṇa-kāla (eclipse time) is identified as a high-merit window for dāna; one schedules charity, japa, snāna, and śrāddha-like acts accordingly.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Description","entry_title":"Grahaṇa-kāla Dāna—Akṣaya Puṇya","lookup_keywords":["Rahu","grahana","dana","akshaya","chandra-surya"],"quick_summary":"Eclipses are explained as Rāhu’s seizure of Sun/Moon; gifts given during the eclipse are said to yield imperishable merit, so dāna is prioritized in that interval."}
Concept: Kāla-viśeṣa: certain times amplify karmic fruit; dāna at grahaṇa becomes akṣaya.
Application: Prepare beforehand (food, gold, cloth, cows, sesame, etc. per local custom) and give during eclipse while maintaining purity vows.
Khanda Section: Jyotisha & Dana-Dharma (Eclipse rites and meritorious giving)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Rāhu, a shadowy graha, grasps the Sun and Moon while devotees perform dāna and snāna during the darkened sky.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala temple mural style, dramatic eclipse sky, large stylized Rāhu with serpent-tail, Sun and Moon partially covered, devotees in white dhoti offering dāna, lamp-lit riverbank, rich reds and ochres","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, gold-leaf haloed Sun and Moon, ornate Rāhu figure, foreground donors giving cloth and coins to brāhmaṇas, embossed gold details, temple gopura silhouette","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, clean linework, instructional tableau: eclipse disk, clock-like kāla marker, donors with labeled gifts (til, hiraṇya, vastra), calm palette with fine ornament","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, night-blue eclipse scene, detailed faces of donors and recipients, Rāhu as a dark celestial head near the eclipsed orb, river ghāṭ with ritual vessels, delicate borders"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: राहुर्मत्तस्तु = राहुः मत्तः तु; चन्द्रार्कौ treated as द्वन्द्व (चन्द्र + अर्क) in द्वितीया-द्विवचन; यद्दानं = यत् दानम्; तदक्षयं = तत् अक्षयम्.
Related Themes: Agni Purana: dāna-vidhi sections; Agni Purana: jyotiṣa/grahaṇa-nimitta sections
FAQs
It teaches a Jyotiṣa-based ritual timing rule: during a grahaṇa (eclipse) caused by Rāhu, dāna (charitable giving) performed in that specific kāla is considered especially efficacious and yields akṣaya (inexhaustible) merit.
It integrates cosmological/Jyotiṣa explanation (Rāhu as the graha responsible for eclipses) with applied dharma practice (dāna at grahaṇa-kāla), showing how the text links astronomical phenomena, ritual calendars, and karma-producing actions.
Gifts given during an eclipse are said to become akṣaya—undiminishing in result—implying heightened karmic return and enduring religious merit when charity is aligned with a potent sacred time.