Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 58
Srāvādya-śauca
Impurity due to bodily discharge and allied causes
प्रविशेयुः समालभ्य कृत्वाश्मनि पदं शनैः अक्षरलवणान्नः स्युर् निर्मांसा भूमिशायिनः
praviśeyuḥ samālabhya kṛtvāśmani padaṃ śanaiḥ akṣaralavaṇānnaḥ syur nirmāṃsā bhūmiśāyinaḥ
他们应当进入所规定的戒行，先如法触及仪轨与戒律，然后一步一步缓缓将足踏在石上。应以“仅一音节所量”的食物与加盐之食维生，禁绝肉食，并卧睡于地。
Lord Agni (in dialogue, instructing sage Vasiṣṭha)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Vrata","secondary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","practical_application":"Designing and observing expiatory disciplines (prāyaścitta) involving regulated diet, non-violence, austerity, and prescribed conduct (e.g., sleeping on the ground).","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Procedure","entry_title":"Prāyaścitta-vrata: regulated entry, measured diet, and austerities","lookup_keywords":["prāyaścitta","vrata-vidhi","akṣara-lavaṇa-anna","nir-māṃsa","bhūmiśayana"],"quick_summary":"The observant enters the discipline with ritual propriety, proceeds carefully, eats strictly regulated salted food in minimal measure, avoids meat, and sleeps on the ground as an austerity."}
Concept: Purification through niyama (regulated conduct) and tapas (austerity), expressed as food-restraint, non-violence, and humility.
Application: Adopt measurable restraints (diet, sleep, conduct) as a structured method for expiation and self-regulation.
Khanda Section: Prāyaścitta & Vrata-vidhi (Atonements, vows, and expiatory disciplines)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: bhayanaka
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"An ascetic or householder-votary begins an expiatory observance, stepping carefully onto a stone, carrying a small food portion, rejecting meat, and sleeping on bare ground.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala temple mural style, earthy reds and greens, a vrata-observer with shaved head and simple cloth, stepping onto a stone slab, holding a small leaf-bowl of salted rice, sparse hut interior, calm austere mood, traditional ornamented borders","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, gold-leaf highlights on the stone platform and ritual vessels, a restrained palette, the votary in simple white cloth, minimal food in a small bowl, ground-sleeping mat, devotional-austere atmosphere","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting style, fine linework, instructional composition showing sequential steps: touching the rite, stepping on stone, measured food, sleeping on ground; labels implied by gestures, clean background","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, detailed domestic courtyard, a votary stepping onto a stone, attendants absent, small dish of salted food, night scene with the votary lying on the ground, delicate architectural framing"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"contemplative","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: कृत्वाश्मनि = कृत्वा + अश्मनि; लवणान्नः = लवण + अन्नः; स्युर् = स्युः (विसर्ग-लोप)
Related Themes: Agni Purana: prāyaścitta-vrata sections in the same khanda; general śauca-niyama passages elsewhere in Dharma portions
FAQs
It prescribes prāyaścitta-style austerities: gradual, careful ritual conduct (stepping slowly on stone), regulated minimal diet (akṣara-measured food with salt), abstinence from meat, and sleeping on the ground as a discipline.
Beyond mythology, the Agni Purana catalogs practical dharma procedures—here, precise bodily, dietary, and lifestyle regulations used in vows and expiations, reflecting its handbook-like coverage of ritual law and conduct.
Such restraints function as tapas (austerity) to reduce impurity and karmic burden, cultivating self-control and ritual purity as part of expiatory observance.