Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 7
Adhyaya 165 — नानाधर्माः
Various Dharmas
सन्त्यजेद् दूषितान्नारीमृतुकाले न शुद्ध्यति य आत्मत्र्यतिरेकेण द्वितीयं नात्र पश्यति
santyajed dūṣitānnārīmṛtukāle na śuddhyati ya ātmatryatirekeṇa dvitīyaṃ nātra paśyati
தீட்டுற்ற பெண்ணை விலக்க வேண்டும்; ருது-காலத்தில் (மாதவிடாய் காலத்தில்) அவள் சுத்தமானவள் எனக் கருதப்படமாட்டாள். ஆனால் ஆத்மாவைத் தவிர இங்கு ‘இரண்டாவது’ ஒன்றையும் காணாதவனுக்கு, இந்த விதி அதேபடி பொருந்தாது.
Lord Agni (in instruction to Sage Vasiṣṭha, Agni Purana’s primary didactic frame)
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: karuṇa
Sandhi Resolution Notes: सन्त्यजेद्→सन् त्यजेत् (participle + optative); दूषितान्नारीमृतुकाले→दूषिताम् नारीम् ऋतुकाले; नात्र→न अत्र; ya in IAST normalized to यः.
FAQs
It gives a shauca (purity) injunction regarding a woman’s ritual status during ṛtukāla (menses) and frames it alongside a non-dual (ātma-advaita) perspective that relativizes social-purity rules for one established in non-dual realization.
In a single verse it combines Dharma-shastra style social/ritual regulation (purity norms) with Upanishadic Advaita language (“not seeing a second besides the Self”), illustrating how the Agni Purana ranges from practical household law to high metaphysics.
It distinguishes between external purity disciplines that guide ordinary conduct and the inner standpoint of Self-knowledge, implying that karmic/ritual rules operate within perceived duality, while realization of non-duality transforms one’s relationship to such injunctions.