Agni Purana — Raja-dharma, Shloka 18
Chapter 228 — स्वप्नाध्यायः
Svapnādhāyaḥ / Chapter on Dreams
एकस्यामथ चेद्रात्रौ शुभं वा यदि वाशुभं पश्चादृष्टस्तु यस्तत्र तस्य पाकं विनिर्दिशेत्
ekasyāmatha cedrātrau śubhaṃ vā yadi vāśubhaṃ paścādṛṣṭastu yastatra tasya pākaṃ vinirdiśet
Если в течение одной ночи увидено знамение — благоприятное или неблагоприятное, — то следует точно предсказать созревание плода по тому, что будет увидено там затем.
Lord Agni (instructing sage Vasiṣṭha in the Agni Purana’s prognostic/śakuna material)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Sandhi Resolution Notes: एकस्याम् + अथ → एकस्यामथ; चेत् + रात्रौ → चेद्रात्रौ; वा + अशुभम् → वाशुभम्; दृष्टः + तु → दृष्टस्तु; विनिर्दिशेत् is finite verb (ni-vi-diś, optative).
FAQs
It gives a śakuna (omen) rule: when an auspicious or inauspicious sign is seen during the same night, the prognosticator should determine the final outcome based on the subsequent sign observed afterward.
Beyond theology and worship, the Agni Purana also preserves applied knowledge like prognostication (śakuna/jyotiṣa). This verse exemplifies practical decision-rules for interpreting signs—one of the many non-ritual, technical domains included in the text.
It frames omen-reading as a disciplined interpretive practice: outcomes are understood as ‘ripening’ (pāka) of causes, and correct discernment is presented as a way to act in alignment with dharma by responding appropriately to indications of favorable or unfavorable fruition.