Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 11
Chapter 171 — प्रायश्चित्तानि
Prāyaścittāni / Expiations
एकभक्तं त्र्यहाभ्यस्तं क्रमान्नक्तमयाचितं प्राजापत्यमुपोष्यान्ते पादः स्यात् कृच्छ्रपादकः
ekabhaktaṃ tryahābhyastaṃ kramānnaktamayācitaṃ prājāpatyamupoṣyānte pādaḥ syāt kṛcchrapādakaḥ
ఒకభక్తం (రోజుకు ఒక్కసారి భోజనం) మూడు రోజులు ఆచరించి, తరువాత క్రమంగా రాత్రి భోజనం, ఆపై యాచించకుండా లభించిన ఆహారంతో జీవించడం—ఇలా ప్రాజాపత్య ఉపవాసం పూర్తవుతుంది. దీని ముగింపులో ఒక పాదం ‘కృచ్ఛ్ర-పాదక’ అని పిలుస్తారు.
Lord Agni (in discourse to sage Vasiṣṭha)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Vrata","practical_application":"Implementing the Prājāpatya fast sequence and computing penance units (pāda) for graded expiation.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Procedure","entry_title":"Prājāpatya-vrata sequence and Kṛcchra-pādaka (quarter unit)","lookup_keywords":["prājāpatya","ekabhakta","naktabhojana","ayācita","kṛcchra-pādaka"],"quick_summary":"Gives the stepwise Prājāpatya regimen—one meal for three days, then night-only eating, then unsolicited food—and defines its concluding quarter as a kṛcchra-pādaka unit."}
Concept: Atonement is structured, sequential, and quantifiable; purity is pursued through regulated dependence (ayācita) and restraint.
Application: Following a staged vow without improvisation; using the 'pāda' notion to scale penance duration/intensity to circumstance.
Khanda Section: Dharma-shastra (Prāyaścitta & Vrata-vidhi)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: dharmic
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A four-phase instructional depiction: (1) one-meal practice for three days, (2) night-only meal, (3) living on unsolicited alms/food, (4) marking the concluding quarter-unit (pāda) of kṛcchra.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, segmented narrative panels showing the practitioner receiving food only at night and later accepting unsolicited offerings, with a palm-leaf tally for 'pāda', warm earthy tones, stylized figures.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore, central penitent with gold detailing, surrounding small vignettes of the three phases (ekabhakta, nakta, ayācita), ornate frame, symbolic quarter-mark motif near the manuscript.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, didactic layout with clear sequential scenes and fine inscriptions, gentle colors, emphasis on the timing (night meal) and the 'pāda' measurement.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, domestic courtyard at dusk for nakta-bhojana, later a passerby offering unsolicited food, a scribe annotating 'Prājāpatya' and 'pādaka', meticulous architectural detail."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Kalyani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: त्र्यहाभ्यस्तं = त्र्यह-अभ्यस्तम्; क्रमान्नक्तमयाचितं = क्रमात् नक्तम् अ-याचितम्; प्राजापत्यमुपोष्यान्ते = प्राजापत्यम् उपोष्य अन्ते; कृच्छ्रपादकः = कृच्छ्र-पादकः
Related Themes: Agni Purana 171 (kṛcchra gradations; pāda reckoning)
FAQs
It defines the step-by-step regimen of the Prājāpatya expiatory fast—three days of one meal (ekabhakta), followed sequentially by night-eating (nakta) and then subsisting on unasked-for food (ayācita)—and states that this completed cycle can be counted as a ‘quarter’ (pāda) unit called kṛcchra-pādaka.
Beyond mythology, the Agni Purana catalogs practical dharma-legal procedures, including measurable penance-units and standardized fasting protocols used for expiation (prāyaścitta), reflecting its compendium-style coverage of ritual law.
By prescribing regulated restraint in food and conduct, it frames expiation as a quantifiable discipline that purifies faults and restores ritual and moral purity through a recognized prāyaścitta measure (a pāda of Kṛcchra).