Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 40
Chapter 168 — महापातकादिकथनम्
Exposition of Great Sins and Related Topics
अपात्रीकरणं ज्ञेयमसत्यस्य च भाषणं कृमिकीटवयोहत्या मद्यानुगतभोजनं
apātrīkaraṇaṃ jñeyamasatyasya ca bhāṣaṇaṃ kṛmikīṭavayohatyā madyānugatabhojanaṃ
کسی مستحق شخص کو نالائقِ قبول (اپاتر) ٹھہرانا، جھوٹ بولنا، کیڑے مکوڑوں اور پرندوں کو مارنا، اور شراب سے وابستہ کھانا کھانا—یہ سب گناہ کے کام سمجھے جائیں۔
Lord Agni (teaching in the Agni Purana’s dharma-prāyaścitta discourse)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Samanya","practical_application":"Enumerates demerit-causing acts (false speech, harming small creatures, liquor-associated food) used to determine impurity and need for expiation.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"List","entry_title":"Apātrīkaraṇa-ādi pāpa (demerit acts: disqualifying, lying, killing small beings, liquor-tainted food)","lookup_keywords":["apātrīkaraṇa","anṛta-bhāṣaṇa","kṛmi-kīṭa-hiṃsā","vayaḥ-hatyā","madya-anugata-bhojana"],"quick_summary":"Treats disqualifying the worthy, lying, killing even small life-forms, and consuming liquor-connected food as sinful/defiling, prompting restraint and (where prescribed) prāyaścitta."}
Concept: Satya and ahiṃsā extend to speech and to minute life; intoxication-associated consumption is treated as moral-ritual contamination.
Application: Encourages truthfulness, careful conduct to avoid inadvertent killing, and abstention from intoxicant-linked food in ritual/social contexts.
Khanda Section: Dharma-shastra / Prāyaścitta and Aśauca (Sin, impurity, and expiation)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bibhatsa
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A teacher warns against lying and harm; small creatures (worms/insects) shown protected; a vessel of liquor and food set aside as impure; a worthy person being wrongly disqualified is depicted as a moral wrong.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, rishi with raised hand in admonition, tiny insects rendered symbolically near a leaf, a covered pot marked as madya, a devotee turned away unjustly; strong outlines, didactic tone.","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, central dharma-teacher with gold work, side motifs: speech scroll (satya), small life-forms, and a forbidden liquor pot; ornate borders emphasizing prohibition.","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style, instructional panels: truthful speech vs false speech, careful sweeping to avoid insects, food near liquor marked as to be avoided; fine line and gentle colors.","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, intimate interior scene: scholar instructing, a servant presenting food and a wine vessel pushed aside, detailed naturalistic insects/birds in margins, moral narrative."}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Todi","pace":"slow","voice_tone":"contemplative"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: jñeyam asatyasya = jñeyam asatyasya; kṛmikīṭavayohatyā = kṛmi-kīṭa-vayo-hatyā; madyānugatabhojanam = madya-anugata-bhojanam.
Related Themes: Agni Purana 168 (pāpa classifications); Agni Purana 170 (expiations for falsehood/intoxicants)
FAQs
It enumerates specific pāpa/impurity-causing actions—ritual disqualification of a recipient (apātrīkaraṇa), false speech, harm to small creatures/birds, and consumption of food associated with alcohol—used in dharma and prāyaścitta assessment.
Alongside rituals and theology, the Agni Purana compiles dharma-legal/ethical norms; this verse functions like a concise dharma-shastra list defining actionable moral faults relevant to social rites, purity, and expiation.
It frames these behaviors as karmically harmful—especially untruth, harm (hiṃsā) to living beings, and intoxicant-linked impurity—thereby warning that such acts obstruct merit and require restraint and (elsewhere) expiation.