Agnipurana 43
English (machine translation) 43
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Contents
43.1
The Blessed One said: / I shall state the deities to be installed in a temple; listen to me, O Brahmā: / In the middle of a five-shrine complex, one should install Vāsudeva,
43.2
and Vāmana, Nṛhari, the Horse-Headed One, and likewise the Boar / in the south-east, south-west, north-west, and north-east quarters.
43.3
Or else one should place Nārāyaṇa in the center, Ambikā in the south-east, / the Sun in the south-west, Brahmā in the north-west, and a liṅga in the north-east;
43.4
or in the form of Rudra; or in nine shrines / one should place Vāsudeva in the center, and on the left of each, beginning with the east,
43.5
Indra and the other world-protectors. Or in nine abodes / he should make a five-shrine complex with Puruṣottama in the center.
43.6
He should place Lakṣmī and Kubera in the east, the troop of Mothers in the south, / Skanda, Gaṇeśa, and Īśāna [along with] the Sun and other planets in the west,
43.7
the ten [incarnations] beginning with the Fish in the north; likewise Caṇḍikā in the south-east; / having placed Ambikā in the south-west, and Sarasvatī in the north-west,
43.8
[One should deposit] Padmā in the northeast, or Vāsudeva or Nārāyaṇa in the centre; / in a shrine of thirteen [deities] one should deposit Hari in his cosmic form (Viśvarūpa) in the centre.
43.8.p1
[Page 125]
43.9
Or [one should deposit] Keśava and the others beginning in the east, or Hari himself in another abode. / An image is taught to be of seven kinds: made of clay, fashioned of wood, made of metal, made of jewels,
43.10
made of stone, made of fragrant paste, and made of flowers. / An image made of flowers, of fragrant paste, or of clay—
43.11
these, worshipped for that particular time, bestow the fruits of all desires. / Now I shall describe [the image] made of stone, and where the stone is to be taken.
43.12
In the absence of mountains, one may take a stone found in the earth. / White, red, yellow, and black stones are commended for the four social classes.
43.13
When a stone according to the colour of the social classes cannot properly be obtained, / one should perform fire oblation there using the Nṛsiṃha mantra to produce the [desired] colour and other [qualities].
43.14
A stone with prominent white lines, or prominent black lines through fire oblation to Nṛsiṃha, / producing the sound of a bronze bell, sparking, is masculine.
43.15
One with milder characteristics is feminine; in the absence of [either set of] characteristics, it is neuter. / One in which a circular mark is seen should be avoided as pregnant.
43.16
Having gone to the forest for the sake of the image, one should perform the sacrifice for departure. / There, having dug and smeared [the ground], one should worship Hari in a pavilion.
43.17
Having offered an oblation, one should then worship the working tools, such as the chisel. / Having made fire oblation, one should sprinkle the stone with rice water using the weapon-mantra.
43.18
Having made protection with Nṛsiṃha, one should worship [it] with the root-mantra. / Having made fire oblation, the guru should offer the final oblation and then the oblation to the spirits.
43.18.p1
[Footnotes]
43.18.p2
1. "anyadhāmasu yajñavit" is the reading in the manuscript marked kha.
43.18.p3
"yugmadhāmasvayaṃ harim" is the reading in the manuscript marked gha.
43.18.p4
2. "kaumudī" is the reading in the two manuscripts marked kha and gha.
43.18.p5
3. "unmattalakṣaṇā" is the reading in the manuscript marked ṅa.
43.18.p6
4. "mantrayet" is the reading in the manuscript marked kha. / [Page 126]
43.19
Whatever beings, Yātudhānas, Guhyakas, / Siddhas, or others dwell here, having worshipped them, one should ask their pardon:
43.20
“This journey of ours is for the sake of an image of Viṣṇu, by the command of Keśava. / The work that is for the sake of Viṣṇu shall also be yours.
43.21
May you be pleased in every way by this offering of oblation!
43.021cde
Pardon us and go elsewhere, leaving this place quickly.”
43.22
Thus addressed, the spirits depart, satisfied and at ease. / Having eaten the ritual porridge along with the artisans, one should recite the dream-mantra at night:
43.23
“Oṃ, obeisance to Viṣṇu, the Lord of all the worlds, / to the All, the Cosmic Form, the Lord of dreams, obeisance!
43.24
Tell me, O Lord of the gods of gods, as I sleep near you, / in a dream, all the tasks that dwell within my heart!”
43.24.p1
“Oṃ oṃ hrūṃ phaṭ to Viṣṇu, svāhā!”
43.25
If the dream is auspicious, everything is auspicious; but if inauspicious, [one cures it] by fire oblation to Nṛsiṃha. / In the morning, having offered water offering to the stone, one should worship the weapon with the weapon-mantra.
43.26
One should smear the edges of the hoe, chisel, and other tools with honey and ghee. / One should contemplate oneself as Viṣṇu, and the artisan as Viśvakarman.
43.27
One should present the tool as being composed of Viṣṇu, and indicate the face, back, and other parts. / Restraining his senses, with chisel in hand, the artisan [should make it] four-sided.
43.27.p1
[Footnotes]
43.27.p2
1. "lokasiddhyarthamasmākam" is the reading in the manuscript marked kha.
43.27.p3
2. "viśvādhipataye" is the reading in the manuscript marked kha.
43.27.p4
3. "prapanno 'smi" is the reading in the manuscript marked kha.
43.27.p5
4. "oṃ oṃ hrīṃ phaṭ" is the reading in the manuscript marked ga.
43.27.p6
5. "viśvakarmaṇim" is the reading in the two manuscripts marked kha and ga.
43.27.p7
6. "viśvātmakam" is the reading in the three manuscripts marked ga, gha, and ṅa. / [Page 127]
43.28
Having fashioned the stone, he should design [another] slightly smaller for the pedestal. / Placing it on a chariot, bringing it covered with cloth to the artisan's workshop, / and worshipping it, that workman should fashion the image.
43.28.p1
Thus ends the forty-third chapter, entitled “Description of Rites for Pacification and Image-stone Selection”, in the great and venerable Agni Purāṇa.
43.28.p3
Now, chapter forty-four:
43.28.p4
The rules on the characteristics of the images of Vāsudeva and other deities.
Other recensions (1)
- Agnipurāṇa (Nag Publishers edition, Delhi) — Sanskrit
Linked texts (1)
- Agnipurāṇa — Vyāsa, Sanskrit