Agni Purana — Yoga & Brahma-vidya, Shloka 23
Chapter 369 — शरीरावयवाः
The Limbs/Organs and Constituents of the Body
द्वे करे द्वे च चरणे चतस्रः पृष्ठतो गले देहे पादादिशीर्षान्ते जालानि चैव षोडश
dve kare dve ca caraṇe catasraḥ pṛṣṭhato gale dehe pādādiśīrṣānte jālāni caiva ṣoḍaśa
Два «джала» находятся в кистях и два — в стопах; четыре — на спине и в области горла. Так, в теле — от ступней до конца головы — поистине насчитывается шестнадцать «джала» (сетей/сплетений).
Lord Agni (in dialogue tradition, instructing Sage Vasiṣṭha)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Tantra","secondary_vidya":"Ayurveda","practical_application":"Subtle-body mapping for yogic practice and marma-aware body contemplation; used to locate plexus-like ‘networks’ for prāṇa-dhāraṇā and for avoiding injury to vital regions.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"List","entry_title":"Ṣoḍaśa Jāla (Sixteen bodily networks/plexuses)","lookup_keywords":["jāla","ṣoḍaśa","nāḍī-cakra","granthi","marma"],"quick_summary":"Enumerates sixteen ‘jālas’ distributed in hands, feet, back, throat, and along the body from feet to head—serving as a schematic for subtle/anatomical network points used in yoga-tantric body-mapping."}
Concept: Deha as a mapped field of interlinked ‘networks’ (jāla) supporting prāṇa-flow and yogic attention.
Application: Use the enumeration as a dhāraṇā aid: scan from feet to head, stabilizing attention at hands/feet/back/throat networks during prāṇāyāma or nyāsa-like contemplation.
Khanda Section: Tantra & Yoga (Subtle Body / Nāḍī–Cakra–Granthi / Marma-style anatomical enumeration)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A yogic anatomical diagram-like depiction of the human body with highlighted network points in hands, feet, back, throat, and a vertical mapping from feet to head totaling sixteen jālas.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala temple mural style, frontal standing yogic figure, ochre-red background, stylized anatomy with lotus-like nodes at hands, feet, back, throat, and a vertical chain of subtle points, clean linework, traditional ornaments minimal, didactic labels implied.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, central standing figure as a symbolic ‘deha-maṇḍala’, gold-leaf halos around hands/feet/throat nodes, embossed decorative borders, sixteen small gilded medallions marking jālas along the body axis.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, instructional chart aesthetic, soft colors, precise placement of sixteen nodes, hands and feet emphasized, back and throat marked, minimal ornamentation, clear symmetry.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, physician-yogi presenting a body-map scroll, detailed but delicate rendering of a standing figure with sixteen marked points, fine calligraphic annotations, courtly palette and margins."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Ahir Bhairav","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: pādādiśīrṣānte = pāda-ādi-śīrṣa-ante (समास/सन्धि); caiva = ca + eva.
Related Themes: Agni Purana 369 (nāḍī–cakra–granthi / śarīra-saṅkhyā context)
FAQs
It gives a technical enumeration of bodily ‘jālas’—network-like loci/plexuses—assigning counts and locations (hands, feet, back, throat) and totaling them as sixteen from feet to head.
Beyond myth and devotion, it catalogs a yogic–tantric anatomical schema (named loci and totals), showing the text’s compendium style that includes subtle-body mapping alongside ritual, polity, medicine, and arts.
By locating and counting these internal ‘networks,’ the verse supports disciplined contemplation and practice (dhyāna/nyāsa-style awareness), which is traditionally held to aid purification and focused spiritual progress.