Agni Purana — Yoga & Brahma-vidya, Shloka 30
Adhyāya 379 — अद्वैतब्रह्मविज्ञानम्
Advaita-brahma-vijñāna
जिह्वा ब्रवीत्यहमिति दन्तौष्ठौ तालुकं नृप एते नाहं यतः सर्वे वाङ्निपादनहेतवः
jihvā bravītyahamiti dantauṣṭhau tālukaṃ nṛpa ete nāhaṃ yataḥ sarve vāṅnipādanahetavaḥ
నాలుక ‘నేనే మాట్లాడుతున్నాను’ అని అంటుంది; పళ్ళు, పెదవులు, తాలువు ‘నేను కాదు (మేమే)’ అని అంటాయి. ఓ నృపా, ఎందుకంటే ఇవన్నీ వాక్ప్రకటనకు కారణాలు.
Lord Agni (instructing a royal interlocutor addressed as ‘nṛpa’)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Vyakarana","secondary_vidya":"Philosophy","practical_application":"Understanding speech production as a coordinated system (tongue, teeth, lips, palate) to refine articulation, recitation, teaching, and debate.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Description","entry_title":"Vāk-nipādana-hetavaḥ: Causes of Speech Manifestation","lookup_keywords":["vāk","jihvā","danta","oṣṭha","tālu"],"quick_summary":"No single organ ‘speaks’ alone; speech arises from multiple cooperating articulators. This supports precise phonetics and undermines simplistic ego-claims of agency."}
Concept: Agency is distributed among causes; the ‘I speak’ claim is conventional, while speech is produced by cooperating instruments.
Application: Reduce ego in discourse; cultivate disciplined recitation by attending to the instrumental causes of sound.
Khanda Section: Vyakarana & Vak-Shastra (Speech anatomy and the mechanics of utterance)
Primary Rasa: śānta
Secondary Rasa: adbhuta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"An instructional anatomy tableau: tongue, teeth, lips, and palate shown as cooperating ‘speakers’ in a debate-like scene, with a teacher explaining how speech arises from their combined action.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, stylized semi-anatomical mouth diagram integrated into a teaching scene, teacher addressing a king, organs personified with expressive faces, traditional palette and ornamental borders.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore, gold-highlighted teacher figure, symbolic mouth cross-section with labeled tongue/teeth/lips/palate, devotional-instructional fusion, rich reds and greens.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, clear pedagogic diagram of articulation, teacher pointing with stylus, minimal background, fine lines and soft shading for anatomical clarity.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, scholar demonstrating a manuscript diagram of speech organs to a king, delicate rendering of the mouth illustration, refined court setting with books and inkpot."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"didactic","suggested_raga":"Hamsadhwani","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: ब्रवीत्यहमिति = ब्रवीति + अहम् + इति; दन्तौष्ठौ = दन्त-ओष्ठौ; नाहं = न + अहम्; वाङ्निपादनहेतवः = वाक् + निपादन + हेतवः (क् + न् → ङ्न्)
Related Themes: Agni Purana Vyākaraṇa/Vāk-śāstra portions on sound and articulation; Agni Purana 379 (speech/saṃjñā reasoning)
FAQs
It teaches vāk-śāstra/phonetic physiology: speech is produced through multiple articulatory organs (tongue, teeth, lips, palate), not by a single agent.
Alongside ritual and dharma, the Agni Purana also preserves technical knowledge such as grammar and phonetics—here, a compact account of how articulated sound is generated.
By understanding speech as conditioned and instrument-based, the verse supports disciplined, mindful speech (satya and restraint), which is traditionally linked to purification and merit.