Agni Purana — Kosha, Shloka 5
Chapter 363: नृब्रह्मक्षत्रविट्शूद्रवर्गाः
Groups of terms for Men, Brahmins, Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas, and Śūdras
समानोदर्यसोदर्यसगर्भसहजास्समाः सगोत्रबान्धवज्ञातिबन्धुस्वस्वजनाः समाः
samānodaryasodaryasagarbhasahajāssamāḥ sagotrabāndhavajñātibandhusvasvajanāḥ samāḥ
समानोदर्याः सोदर्याः सगर्भाः सहजाश्च समाः। सगोत्रा बान्धवा ज्ञातयः बन्धवः स्वस्वजनाश्च समाः।
Lord Agni (instructing Sage Vasiṣṭha in an encyclopedic dharma/legal section)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Vyakarana","practical_application":"Harmonizing overlapping kinship terms for jurisprudence and ritual: equating categories like uterine siblings and gotra-relations to avoid disputes in inheritance, marriage eligibility, and obligations.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"List","entry_title":"Equivalence of kinship terms: sodarya/sagarbha/sahaja; sagotra/bandhu/jñāti","lookup_keywords":["sodarya","sagarbha","sagotra","jñāti","bandhu"],"quick_summary":"States equivalences among near-synonymous kinship categories (uterine and gotra-based), providing a compact semantic rule-set for consistent dharma application."}
Concept: Saṃjñā-sāmānya: different words can denote the same legal/ritual class; dharma requires stable categories beyond surface vocabulary.
Application: When texts vary in wording (sodarya/sagarbha; bandhu/jñāti), treat them as equivalent classes unless a specific śāstra context distinguishes them.
Khanda Section: Dharma-shastra / Nyaya (Kinship, legal definitions, social relations)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A schematic kinship chart showing siblings from same mother and same womb grouped together; another chart grouping sagotra, bandhu, jñāti, svajana as equivalent circles around a household head.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural with stylized circular family diagrams and small human figures, bold lines, warm palette, caption bands naming sodarya/sagarbha/sagotra/jñāti","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting with gold-framed mandala-like kinship circles, central householder figure, surrounding labeled rings for relations, ornate but diagrammatic","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style pedagogic chart, crisp labeled nodes and lines, minimal background, gentle colors, emphasis on readability of equivalence groupings","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature album-page layout: central portrait of a householder, surrounding cartouches with kinship terms connected by fine lines, decorative border motifs"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Hamsadhwani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: Resolved: सहजास्समाः→सहजाः समाः. Both long list-compounds treated as dvandva (enumerative copulative) with final member inflected.
Related Themes: Agni Purana kinship/ācāra definitions in ch. 363–364 sequence; Agni Purana dharma materials on marriage/inheritance where these terms function as operative categories
FAQs
It provides dharma/legal taxonomy: multiple Sanskrit categories of relatives (sodarya, sagarbha, sagotra, jñāti, bandhu) are declared functionally equivalent for purposes like social duty, legal recognition, and family-based obligations.
Beyond ritual, the Agni Purana catalogs practical governance knowledge—here, precise kinship terminology used in law, inheritance, marriage restrictions, and social duties—showing its coverage of juridical and administrative definitions.
By defining who counts as ‘one’s own’ kin, it supports correct performance of dharma—proper care, charity, rites, and obligations toward relatives—reducing social harm and accruing merit through rightly ordered duties.