Agni Purana — Dharma-shastra, Shloka 67
Srāvādya-śauca
Impurity due to bodily discharge and allied causes
मृतके सूतके वापि रात्रिमध्ये ऽन्यदापतेत् तच्छेषेणैव सुद्ध्येरन् रात्रिशेषे द्व्यहाधिकात्
mṛtake sūtake vāpi rātrimadhye 'nyadāpatet taccheṣeṇaiva suddhyeran rātriśeṣe dvyahādhikāt
若在死亡不净（mṛtaka）或出生不净（sūtaka）期间，于夜半又发生同类之事，则仅以该夜所余之时计数而得清净；若发生在后半夜，则清净之期当加二日而行。
Lord Agni (in discourse to Sage Vasiṣṭha, as the standard Agni Purana dialogue frame)
Vidya Category: {"primary_vidya":"Dharmashastra","secondary_vidya":"Jyotisha","practical_application":"Computing purification periods when a second birth/death event occurs at night, using time-of-night rules (midnight vs latter part) and day-count adjustments.","sutra_style":true}
Encyclopedic Reference: {"reference_type":"Procedure","entry_title":"Night-time occurrence rule in mṛtaka/sūtaka: remainder-of-night vs +2 days","lookup_keywords":["rātri-madhya","rātri-śeṣa","ashaucha counting","mṛtaka sūtaka","two-day addition"],"quick_summary":"If a second event occurs at midnight during ashaucha, purification is by counting only the remaining part of that night; if it occurs in the latter part of the night, add two days to the observance."}
Concept: Ritual law is sensitive to kāla (time); liminal periods like night segments alter the counting of observances.
Application: Priests/householders adjust ashaucha end-dates for eligibility in rites, offerings, and community participation based on when the second event occurs at night.
Khanda Section: Dharma-shastra (Ashauca & Shuddhi: impurity and purification rules)
Primary Rasa: shanta
Secondary Rasa: karuna
Visual Art Cues: {"scene_description":"A night sky split into segments (midnight vs late night) above a household; a priest marks a ledger showing ‘remainder of night’ in one case and ‘+2 days’ in the other.","kerala_mural_prompt":"Kerala mural, stylized night sky with moon and star bands divided into segments, priest with palm-leaf ledger, two panels: ‘rātri-madhya’ remainder-only and ‘rātri-śeṣa’ plus-two-days, traditional flat composition","tanjore_prompt":"Tanjore painting, ornate gold border, two gold-framed vignettes under a moonlit arch: midnight case and late-night case, priest marking dates, gold highlights on the moon and ledger","mysore_prompt":"Mysore painting, instructional chart-like composition with a segmented night arc, arrows to ‘śeṣa-rātri’ and ‘dvya-ha-adhika’, clean labels, calm domestic background","mughal_miniature_prompt":"Mughal miniature, nocturnal courtyard with lantern, astrologer-priest noting time, sky gradient showing midnight and late-night, marginal annotation indicating remainder vs +2 days"}
Audio Atmosphere: {"recitation_mood":"instructional","suggested_raga":"Bhairavi","pace":"medium","voice_tone":"instructional"}
Sandhi Resolution Notes: रात्रिमध्ये 'न्यदापतेत् = रात्रि-मध्ये + अन्यत् + आपतेत् (’ = elision of initial a- after vowel); तच्छेषेणैव = तत्-शेषेण + एव; रात्रिशेषे = रात्रि-शेषे; द्व्यहाधिकात् = द्वि-अह-अधिकात्
Related Themes: Agni Purana 158.63-66 (overlap, precedence, hierarchy)
FAQs
It gives a technical rule for calculating purification time (śuddhi) when a second ashauca-triggering event occurs during an ongoing mṛtaka/sūtaka period, distinguishing mid-night vs late-night occurrence.
Beyond mythology, the Agni Purana preserves practical dharma-shastra style regulations—timekeeping, social ritual law, and precise edge-cases—showing its coverage of lived religious-legal practice.
By prescribing exact purification periods, it aims to restore ritual eligibility and social-religious order (adhikāra) after impurity, ensuring rites are performed at the proper time and in the proper state of purity.