Word

Agni Purana

Sanskrit

अग्नि पुराण

IAST

agni purāṇa

In General

Agni or the God of Fire is the inevitable purohita, the priest of every yagna. He is also a very important presiding deity. Agni has a place in all type of pooja and worship that conduct in house and temples. Agni or Fire is a medium to communicate with the divine, so all the auspicious activity start with fire. He is the house priest and considered as the witness to marriage contract. In the final sacrifice, the mortal body is presented to him. Agni is described as seven rayed God with various shape; with body all of gold with radiant hair flaming from terrific head and mouth whose burning jaws and teeth devour all things. Agni is also represented as a red man having three legs, seven arms, dark eyes, eyebrow and hair. He rides on a ram; wear ornaments and sacred thread with flames come out from all part of his body.

The name Agni is assigned to this purana because Agni is the story teller of the Purana. Agni told the Purana to the sage Vashishtha, who in turn taught this Purana to his disciple Paila and others. Romaharshana learned it from Vyasa popularized or published the Purana to general public. Agni Purana is grouped as a Tamasika Purana. There are about 15500 slokas in the Agni Purana arranged in 380 chapters. The chapters are not grouped in to Cantos or sections. Agni Purana with its rituals and philosophical treatise from Vedas and Upanishads stand one steps ahead of other puranas as far as knowledge of brahmajnana (knowledge of ultimate) is concerned. Apart from stories related to avatara, and bhaktas it also deals with Warfare, geography, Law, Medicine, Botany, Grammar, Lexicon, Acting in drama, Astronomy and Astrology. It briefly describe a synopsis of the Itihasas, Ramayana, Mahabharata, Harivamsa. Because of the verities of subjects it deals with, Agni Purana is often called as Encyclopaedia (Vishwakosha) of Indian literature & culture.

Veda

The Devata of first sukta of Rig veda is Agni. There are 2000 mantras meant for Agni in Rig Veda.

Purana

The Contents of Agni Purana

Sutha at Nimisharanya. The avatars of Vishnu. Matsya, Kurma, Varaha avataras. Vamana Avatar and Bali. Narasimha Avatar, Hiranyakashipu and Prahlada. Parasurama. A summary of the Ramayana. A summary of Harivamsha. A summary of Mahabharata. Buddha and Kalki as the Avataras of Vishnu. The five essential characteristics of a Purana. Narada, Agni, Hayagriva. Construction of a Kunda (sacrificial pit), the Mudras (the positions of fingers during worship). How to Pray, How to Build Temples and Idols. Consecration of an image, architecture of a temple, iconography of the images, the worship of Salagrama. idol installation, the direction of temples. discription of various murties, sivalinga. The repair of a temple. The profile of Universal Creation

Procedure of ‘Puja’ to Ganapati, Shiva, Chandi, Vishnu or Surya. Vastu related to the cities. The creation of Svayambhuva Manu. Description of Bhuvan Kosha (description of the universe). various pilgrimage centeres. Tirthas. Ganga, Kurukshetra, Prayag, Narmada. Ancestral rites. The geography of India and other parts of the world as well as the Puranic perceptions about the distances between various regions of the world. various aspects of astronomy and astrology. The periods of the Manvantaras and the names of the Manus. Gayatri mantras .Description of Traditions

Gayasura. The story of Marichi and Dharmavrata. sins and tonement. Different Ashramas and Varnas. The performances of a number of Vratas. Dhana and vows. Various aspects of statecraft. A detailed account of Dhanurveda or archery, and weapons associated with it. Jurisprudence and law (Vyavahara). Mitakshara. miscellaneous topics regarding the perusal of the Vedas. the gifts to be made when the Puranas are read. A list of the Puranas and the number of verses in each Purana. The genealogy of the Puranic dynasties.

The various branches of medicine. The worship of Surya and various mantras (chants). The mantras for worshipping of the goddess Tvarita. Ishvara speaks to Skanda regarding the worship of Booth Ganas. Vagishvari, Aghora, Pashupata, Rudra, and Gauri. The glorification of establishing a linga in a temple. Summary of Pingala sutras on metrics and an unknown commentary on it. Detailed study of Vedic phonetics. Kingship Duties and Rama Rajya. Property Rights. yoga and meditation. The poetics and rhetoric. A list of the different types of Sanskrit drama. Thing to remember while acting. The four rites or styles of displaying sentiments and emotions during acting. The actions and movements of the limbs of an actor and definitions of the dramatic representations. Discussions regarding the various figures of speech. Some slokas from the ‘Kavyadarsha’ of Dandin. The merits and demerits of a composition.

A list of monosyllabic words. The rules of Sanskrit grammar. An abstract of the Chandra Vyakarana. A lexicon on the pattern of the Amarakosha. Human anatomy. Various types of Narakas. Raja Yoga and Hatha Yoga. The philosophy of Advaita Vedanta and knowledge of Brahma. The gist of the Bhagavad Gita. a version of the Yama Gita. The Agni Purana phalasthuthi