Agni Purana — Yoga & Brahma-vidya, Shloka 2
Brahma-jñāna
Knowledge of Brahman
अहं ब्रह्म परं ज्योतिरादिकार्यविवर्जितम् अहं ब्रह्म परं ज्योतिर्विराडात्मविवर्जितं
ahaṃ brahma paraṃ jyotirādikāryavivarjitam ahaṃ brahma paraṃ jyotirvirāḍātmavivarjitaṃ
Я — Брахман, высший Свет, свободный от всякой первичной причинности и её следствий. Я — Брахман, высший Свет, не отождествляющийся с Вира́том (Virāṭ, Космическим Человеком) и со всеми представлениями о воплощённом «я».
Lord Agni (instructing the sage Vasiṣṭha in Brahma-vidyā context)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Philosophy","secondary_vidya":"Mantra","practical_application":"Contemplate Brahman as beyond causality (ādi-kārya) and beyond cosmic-body identification (virāṭ); supports disidentification from macrocosm and ego-sense.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Definition","entry_title":"Brahman Beyond Causality and Virāṭ Identification","lookup_keywords":["ādi-kārya-vivarjita","virāṭ-ātma-vivarjita","ahaṃ brahma","parama-jyotis","upādhi-tyāga"],"quick_summary":"Define Brahman as the light of awareness untouched by cause-effect chains and not limited by the cosmic-person (virāṭ) standpoint; meditate by dropping all 'I am the body/world' notions."}
Alamkara Type: Anaphora; also śleṣa-like didactic compression in compounds (ādi-kārya, virāṭ-ātma).
Concept: Brahman is not an effect nor a cause within prakṛti; it is also not the virāṭ standpoint—pure consciousness beyond all upādhis.
Application: Practice 'kāraṇa-kārya-viveka': observe thoughts of origin, time, creation as objects; return to the self-evident light that knows them.
Khanda Section: Moksha-jnana / Advaita-Vedanta (Brahma-vidya)
Primary Rasa: Shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A luminous center labeled as Brahman stands untouched while a chain of cause-and-effect symbols and a grand virāṭ figure appear as translucent overlays that fade away.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural: towering translucent Virāṭ with galaxies and beings in the body, behind it a brighter formless jyotis; causal chain motifs (seed-sprout-wheel) dissolving near the light; earthy reds and golds.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore: ornate but faint Virāṭ silhouette with embedded worlds; central thick gold-leaf aura representing nirguṇa jyotis overpowering the figure; causal symbols rendered at the border, subdued.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore: didactic composition—left panel causal sequence (seed→sprout→tree), right panel Virāṭ body-map, center panel pure light; arrows showing negation/withdrawal into the center.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature: cosmic Virāṭ painted delicately with fine detail; a bright blank gold circle at the heart/sky indicating Brahman beyond depiction; causal motifs in margins like illuminated manuscript glosses."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"contemplative"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: ज्योतिरादिकार्यविवर्जितम् = ज्योतिः + आदिकार्यविवर्जितम् (visarga→र्); ज्योतिर् विराडात्मविवर्जितम् = ज्योतिः + विराडात्मविवर्जितम् (visarga→र्).
Related Themes: Agni Purana Brahma-jñāna Adhyaya 377 (continuation of 'ahaṃ brahma paraṃ jyotiḥ' negations)
FAQs
This verse imparts Brahma-vidyā (non-dual Self-knowledge): realizing the Self as Brahman, self-luminous and beyond the chain of cause-and-effect, rather than as any cosmic or bodily identity.
Alongside ritual, polity, medicine, and arts, the Agni Purana also preserves high philosophical instruction; this verse exemplifies its Vedāntic strand by defining Brahman in precise technical terms (beyond kārya-kāraṇa and beyond Virāṭ-identification).
Contemplating oneself as Brahman—free from causal limitation and cosmic/body identification—is presented as a direct means toward liberation (mokṣa) through the removal of ignorance (avidyā) and the cessation of ego-based bondage.