Agni Purana — Raja-dharma, Shloka 18
Ṣāḍguṇya — The Six Measures of Foreign Policy
with Rāja-maṇḍala Theory
भूतानुग्रहविच्छेदस् तथा मण्डलदूषणं एकार्थाभिनिवेशत्वमिति विग्रहयोनयः
bhūtānugrahavicchedas tathā maṇḍaladūṣaṇaṃ ekārthābhiniveśatvamiti vigrahayonayaḥ
भूतानुग्रहविच्छेदस्तथा मण्डलदूषणम्। एकार्थाभिनिवेशत्वमिति विग्रहयोनयः॥
Lord Agni (in instruction to Sage Vasiṣṭha, the standard Agni Purana dialogue frame)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Alamkara","secondary_vidya":"Vyakarana","practical_application":"Editing and composition: avoid semantic/syntactic breaks, metrical/structural corruption, and mono-meaning obsession to prevent poetic discord (vigraha/dosha).","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"List","entry_title":"Vigraha-yoni (Sources of Discord/Defect in Composition)","lookup_keywords":["vigraha-yoni","bhutanugraha-viccheda","mandala-dushana","ekartha-abhinivesha","dosha"],"quick_summary":"Three causes of compositional discord are taught: broken coherence of sense-relations, damage to the verse-structure/metrical circle, and fixation on a single meaning. The takeaway is to preserve anvaya/artha flow, chandas integrity, and balanced semantic range."}
Concept: Well-formed expression requires coherence, structure, and non-reductive meaning; faults arise when these are violated.
Application: For poets and editors: check (1) syntactic/semantic linkage, (2) meter/structural completeness, (3) avoid forcing one meaning at the cost of context; revise accordingly.
Khanda Section: Sahitya-shastra (Kavya/Alankara and Dosha-Nirnaya)
Primary Rasa: adbhuta
Secondary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A poet-scribe revises a manuscript: one panel shows broken word-links (coherence cut), another shows a damaged metrical circle/mandala diagram, and a third shows a single meaning chained to the text; the corrected version flows cleanly.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural of a learned poet in a library, palm-leaf manuscript, symbolic mandala circle representing meter, broken links repaired, stylized scholarly setting with traditional ornaments and flat perspective.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting of Sarasvati-inspired scribe, gold-leaf accents on manuscript and mandala diagram, three small vignettes depicting the three doshas and their correction, rich colors and ornate frame.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore instructional painting: clear diagrams of mandala (vrtta), arrows showing anvaya connections, poet correcting text with stylus, soft shading and fine linework.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature of a court poet in a kitabkhana, assistants holding manuscripts, a circular meter diagram on a folio, marginal notes correcting coherence and meaning, intricate details and subdued palette."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Saraswati","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: भूतानुग्रहविच्छेदस् = भूत + अनुग्रह + विच्छेदः; मण्डलदूषणं = मण्डल + दूषणम्; एकार्थाभिनिवेशत्वम् = एक + अर्थ + अभिनिवेश + त्वम्; विग्रहयोनयः = विग्रह + योनयः.
Related Themes: Agni Purana 239 (sahitya-shastra: dosha-nirnaya); Agni Purana alamkara and chandas sections nearby in the sahitya corpus
FAQs
This verse imparts Sahitya-vidya (Sanskrit poetics): it lists technical causes that generate compositional discord/defect (vigraha) such as broken coherence, metrical/structural blemish, and forced single-sense interpretation.
By codifying kavya-shastra criteria (fault-analysis in verse-making), the Agni Purana functions as a multi-disciplinary manual—preserving not only theology and ritual but also technical literary theory used by poets, teachers, and commentators.
While primarily technical, the instruction supports dharmic speech and truthful, well-formed expression; avoiding defects in language is traditionally linked with purity of learning (vidya-śuddhi) and the merit of disciplined study and teaching.