Agni Purana — Yoga & Brahma-vidya, Shloka 35
Chapter 370: नरकनिरूपणम्
Naraka-nirūpaṇa) — Description of Hell (with the physiology of dying and the subtle transition
परस्य योषितं हृत्वा ब्रह्मस्वमपहृत्य च अरण्ये निर्जने देशे जायते ब्रह्मराक्षसः
parasya yoṣitaṃ hṛtvā brahmasvamapahṛtya ca araṇye nirjane deśe jāyate brahmarākṣasaḥ
పరస్త్రీని అపహరించి, బ్రాహ్మణస్వాన్ని కూడా అపహరించినవాడు, నిర్జన అరణ్యదేశంలో నివసించే బ్రహ్మరాక్షసుడిగా జన్మిస్తాడు.
Lord Agni (in discourse to the sage Vasiṣṭha, as per the common Agni Purāṇa narration frame)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Cosmology","practical_application":"Ethical restraint and legal-religious deterrence: warns against adultery/abduction and theft of brahmin property by mapping them to specific post-mortem consequences (yoni/pretatva).","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Description","entry_title":"Brahma-rakshasa birth from stri-harana and brahmasva-apahara","lookup_keywords":["brahma-rakshasa","stri-harana","brahmasva-apahara","naraka-vijnana","yoni-phala"],"quick_summary":"Abducting another’s wife and stealing a brāhmaṇa’s property are said to result in rebirth as a brahma-rākṣasa, haunting desolate forests—serving as a karmic deterrent and social boundary marker."}
Concept: Karma-phala as yoni (rebirth) and social-ritual consequence for grave transgressions (parastrī-haraṇa, brahmasva-haraṇa).
Application: Cultivate restraint (indriya-nigraha), respect for marriage and brahmin property; use as a normative guide for adjudication and penance selection.
Khanda Section: Dharma-shastra / Naraka-vijnana (Sin, karmic retribution, and post-death states)
Primary Rasa: bhayanaka
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Type: Sacred/Otherworldly
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A fearful brahma-rākṣasa figure dwelling in a lonely forest, evoking the karmic result of abducting another’s wife and stealing brahmin property.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala temple mural style, dark forest with stylized trees, a gaunt brahma-rakshasa with matted hair and fierce eyes, minimal palette with earthy reds/greens, narrative panel showing the sinner’s fall into forest-haunting existence.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, central brahma-rakshasa in a forest niche, ornate border with gold leaf, symbolic items indicating stolen brahmin wealth, dramatic but devotional-compositional symmetry.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, fine linework, subdued colors, didactic scene: abduction and theft implied in side vignettes, main panel shows transformation into brahma-rakshasa in a desolate woodland.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, detailed forest landscape, solitary fearsome figure near a ruined shrine/clearing, subtle narrative cues of crime (discarded ornaments, broken household items), crisp detailing and naturalistic shading."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: ब्रह्मस्वमपहृत्य → ब्रह्मस्वम् + अपहृत्य; अन्यत्र स्पष्टपदविभागः।
Related Themes: Agni Purana 370 (Naraka-vijnana / Raja-dharma classifications); Agni Purana sections on prāyaścitta and vrata (kṛcchra etc., nearby verses)
FAQs
It specifies a dharma-legal karmic rule: abducting another’s wife and stealing a brāhmaṇa’s property are classified as grave sins whose stated result is rebirth as a brahma-rākṣasa in desolate forest regions.
Alongside ritual, polity, medicine, and arts, the Agni Purāṇa also systematizes ethical jurisprudence and afterlife taxonomy—linking specific offenses (sexual transgression and brahmin-property theft) to specific post-death/next-birth outcomes (preta-yoni such as brahma-rākṣasa).
It underscores that violations of marital fidelity and theft from brāhmaṇas are not merely social crimes but spiritually weighty acts that degrade one’s state of existence, leading to an afflictive, isolated birth associated with impurity and suffering.