Agni Purana — Raja-dharma, Shloka 62
Chapter 226 — राजधर्माः
Rājadharma: Royal Duties and Daṇḍanīti
विकर्णकरनासौष्ठी कृत्वा गोभिः प्रवासयेत् क्षेत्रवेश्मग्रामवनविदारकास् तथा नराः
vikarṇakaranāsauṣṭhī kṛtvā gobhiḥ pravāsayet kṣetraveśmagrāmavanavidārakās tathā narāḥ
विकर्णकरनासौष्ठी कृत्वा गोभिः सह प्रवासयेत्; क्षेत्रवेश्मग्रामवनविदारकान् नरान् तथा।
Lord Agni (instructing sage Vasiṣṭha in the Agni Purana’s didactic frame)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Arthashastra","secondary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","practical_application":"Public-order enforcement against vandalism and environmental/property devastation: corporal marking/mutilation plus banishment (with cattle) to remove repeat threats from the community.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Procedure","entry_title":"Mutilation and banishment for devastators of fields, homes, villages, and forests","lookup_keywords":["banishment (pravāsana)","mutilation (vikarṇa/karṇa/nāsa/auṣṭha)","property devastation","forest destruction","daṇḍanīti"],"quick_summary":"Those who devastate cultivated land, dwellings, settlements, or forests are punished with specified mutilations and then banished along with their cattle—combining deterrence, identification, and removal."}
Concept: Land, settlement, and forest are collective supports of life; destroying them is an offence against the community’s dharma and prosperity.
Application: Treat large-scale vandalism/ecological destruction as aggravated crime; combine restitution, removal from jurisdiction, and strong deterrents (historically corporal; modern analog: permanent disqualification/ban and heavy penalties).
Khanda Section: Raja-dharma / Danda-niti (Penal governance and public order)
Primary Rasa: raudra
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"Royal officers punish men who have destroyed crops, houses, and forest land; the offenders are marked by mutilation and then driven out with their cattle beyond the village boundary.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, boundary-of-village scene: officers with staffs, offenders being expelled with cattle, stylized fields and forest, strong narrative lines and intense palette.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, king’s decree scene with gold-leaf frame; procession of banishment with cattle; symbolic depiction of ruined fields and broken huts.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, instructional composition: labeled elements—field, house, village, forest—showing damage; then banishment procession; refined detailing and calm layout.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, panoramic rural landscape: devastated crops, damaged huts, forest clearing; officials escorting offenders and cattle out, fine detail and naturalistic color."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"epic","suggested_raga":"Bhairav","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"epic"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: vikarṇakaranāsauṣṭhī analyzed as multi-member compound; kṣetra+veśma+grāma+vana+vidārakān → kṣetraveśmagrāmavanavidārakān; pravāsayet is causative of pra-√vas.
Related Themes: Agni Purana 226 (daṇḍa for public-order offences)
FAQs
It gives a danda-nīti rule: specified corporal marks (ear/nose/lip mutilations) followed by banishment with confiscatory effect (removal along with cattle) for those who devastate agricultural, residential, and forest property.
Beyond myths and rituals, the Agni Purana includes practical statecraft—legal categories of offences (damage to fields, houses, villages, forests) and corresponding punishments—showing its wide coverage of governance and civil order.
By prescribing strict penalties for destructive acts, the text frames protection of land, settlement, and forests as dharmic duty; harming them is treated as a grave adharma with severe social and karmic consequence.