Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 4
Prāyaścitta — Definitions of Killing, Brahmahatyā, and Graded Expiations
आक्रोशितस्ताडितो वा धनैव्वा परिपीडितः ततः कर्माणीति ख , ग , घ , छ च यमुद्दिश्य त्यजेत् प्राणांस्तमाहुर्ब्रह्मघातकं
ākrośitastāḍito vā dhanaivvā paripīḍitaḥ tataḥ karmāṇīti kha , ga , gha , cha ca yamuddiśya tyajet prāṇāṃstamāhurbrahmaghātakaṃ
ਜੇ ਕੋਈ ਮਨੁੱਖ ਗਾਲਾਂ, ਮਾਰ-ਪੀਟ ਜਾਂ ਧਨ-ਬਲ ਦੀ ਪੀੜਾ ਨਾਲ—ਉਪਰੋਕਤ ਕਰਮਾਂ ਨੂੰ ਕਾਰਨ ਬਣਾ ਕੇ—ਆਪਣੇ ਪ੍ਰਾਣ ਤਿਆਗ ਦੇਵੇ, ਤਾਂ ਜਿਸ ਦੇ ਕਾਰਨ ਉਹ ਮੌਤ ਹੋਈ, ਉਸ ਨੂੰ ਬ੍ਰਹਮਘਾਤਕ ਕਿਹਾ ਜਾਂਦਾ ਹੈ।
Lord Agni (in discourse to Sage Vasiṣṭha, as the usual frame of the Agni Purāṇa)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Arthashastra","practical_application":"Addresses liability for suicide caused by abuse, beating, or financial oppression; guides judges and communities in attributing brahmahatyā-like guilt to coercive persecutors.","sutra_style":false}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Commentary","entry_title":"Causation of suicide by coercion/oppression as brahma-ghātaka","lookup_keywords":["ākrōśa","tāḍana","paripīḍā","ātmahatyā-causation","brahma-ghātaka"],"quick_summary":"If a person, driven by abuse, beating, or oppressive pressure, gives up life, the one responsible for those causative acts is deemed a brahma-ghātaka with respect to that death. Moral causation extends beyond direct violence."}
Concept: Harmful coercion and sustained persecution can be a proximate cause of death; dharma imputes guilt by causal responsibility, not only by physical act.
Application: In social conduct and governance, prohibit harassment and exploitative financial oppression; in adjudication, treat coercive causation of death as a grave offense requiring severe penance/punishment.
Khanda Section: Rajadharma & Nyaya (Law, Ethics, and Sin—definitions of grave crimes)
Primary Rasa: karuna
Secondary Rasa: raudra
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A distressed person subjected to public abuse, beating, and debt-pressure; the victim later relinquishes life, while the oppressor is shown as the moral cause—linked by a visual thread of causation.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, sequential narrative panels: (1) verbal abuse scene, (2) beating, (3) money-oppression with debt ledger, (4) victim’s life departing; strong emotive faces, symbolic dharma thread connecting oppressor to outcome","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore style, moral allegory: oppressor with gold-highlighted wealth symbols, victim in sorrow, a dark karmic chain motif between them, ornate borders and gold work emphasizing the weight of sin","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, clear four-step storyboard with captions ākrōśa/tāḍana/paripīḍā/prāṇatyāga, emphasizing causality; refined linework and gentle colors","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, urban setting with moneylender and officials pressuring a man, later a private chamber scene of self-destruction; delicate detailing, subdued drama, explanatory cartouche"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"solemn","suggested_raga":"Bhairav","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"contemplative"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: ākrośitastāḍito → ākrośitaḥ tāḍitaḥ; dhanaivvā → dhanena iva vā (as transmitted); yamuddiśya → yam uddiśya; prāṇāṃstamāhuḥ → prāṇān tam āhuḥ; brahmaghātakaṃ → brahma-ghātakam. The sequence 'kha, ga, gha, cha' appears as manuscript/edition markers; treated as indeclinable letter-names.
Related Themes: Agni Purana 173 (items ka-kha-ga-gha-cha referenced; broader list of grave causations and liabilities)
FAQs
It gives a dharma-śāstric rule of culpability: causing a person to abandon life due to abuse, beating, or coercion is treated as a brahmahatyā-equivalent offense (brahma-ghātaka).
Beyond ritual and myth, the Agni Purāṇa preserves legal-ethical classifications of crimes and their karmic weight, functioning like a compendium of rajadharma/nyāya alongside other sciences.
It assigns severe karmic responsibility to the perpetrator: driving someone to suicide through oppression is counted among the gravest sins, comparable to brahmahatyā.