Agni Purana — Kosha, Shloka 3
Chapter 365 — क्षत्रविट्शूद्रवर्गाः
The Classes of Kṣatriyas, Vaiśyas, and Śūdras
द्रष्टरि व्यवहाराणां प्राड्विवाकाक्षदर्शकौ भौरिकः कनकाध्यक्षो ऽथाध्यक्षाधिकृतौ समौ
draṣṭari vyavahārāṇāṃ prāḍvivākākṣadarśakau bhaurikaḥ kanakādhyakṣo 'thādhyakṣādhikṛtau samau
قانونی کارروائیوں کی نگرانی کے لیے ‘پرادویواک’ (سربراہ عدالتی افسر) اور ‘اکشدَرْشَک’ (حسابات کا معائنہ کرنے والا) ہوتے ہیں۔ اسی طرح ‘بھورِک’ (اوزان و پیمائش کا نگران) اور ‘کنکادھیکش’ (سونا/خزانہ کا نگران) مرتبے میں برابر ہیں؛ اور ‘ادھیکش’ اور ‘ادھکرت’ بھی اختیار میں مساوی سمجھے جاتے ہیں۔
Lord Agni (in instruction to Sage Vasiṣṭha, within the Agni Purana’s rajadharma/vyavahāra section)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Arthashastra","secondary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","practical_application":"Defines oversight offices for courts, auditing, weights/measures, and treasury—useful for building accountable administration and anti-fraud controls.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"List","entry_title":"Regulatory officers: Prāḍvivāka, Akṣadarśaka, Bhaurika, Kanakādhyakṣa","lookup_keywords":["prāḍvivāka","akṣadarśaka","bhaurika","kanakādhyakṣa","vyavahāra"],"quick_summary":"Names key supervisory posts for jurisprudence and fiscal regulation, emphasizing parity of rank among comparable oversight roles."}
Concept: Justice and revenue depend on institutional checks: adjudication, audit, standard measures, and guarded treasury.
Application: Create separated duties—judge, auditor, standards officer, treasury chief—to reduce corruption and ensure fair commerce.
Khanda Section: Rajadharma & Vyavahara (Ancient Indian Governance and Jurisprudence)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A courthouse and treasury complex: the prāḍvivāka presides over a dispute, the akṣadarśaka audits ledgers, the bhaurika checks weights, and the kanakādhyakṣa guards gold in the treasury.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, split-panel narrative: court hearing with judge and litigants; adjacent scene of auditor with palm-leaf accounts; merchant scales being inspected; treasury room with gold vessels, all in bold flat colors and temple-style ornament","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, gold accents on treasury objects and scales, dignified officials with insignia, architectural framing with pillars, rich costumes, embossed gold for coins and ornaments","mysore_prompt":"Mysore style, didactic multi-vignette layout showing each officer at work (court, audit, weights, gold), fine lines and gentle colors, clear role differentiation by attire and tools","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, bustling administrative scene with scribes, scales, coin chests, and a judge on a dais, intricate detail of documents and instruments, realistic spatial depth"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: prāḍvivākākṣadarśakau→prāḍvivākaḥ + akṣa-darśakaḥ (dvandva-like listing); kanakādhyakṣo→kanaka-adhyakṣaḥ; 'thādhyakṣādhikṛtau→atha adhyakṣaḥ adhikṛtaḥ; samau refers to the pair (adhyakṣa, adhikṛta).
Related Themes: Agni Purana: Vyavahāra (legal procedure) discussions; Agni Purana: Rajadharma sections on revenue and officers
FAQs
It imparts administrative-juridical knowledge: the designation of key state officers for supervising litigation, auditing records/accounts, regulating weights and measures, and managing gold/treasury—along with their relative equivalence in rank.
By detailing concrete bureaucratic roles (judge, auditor, standards officer, treasury superintendent), it shows the Agni Purana functioning as a practical manual of statecraft and legal administration alongside its religious and cosmological teachings.
Upholding fair adjudication, honest accounting, and correct standards of value is treated as dharma in governance; such order reduces social harm (hiṃsā/adharma) and supports righteous rule, which is traditionally linked with collective merit and stability in the realm.