All About Agni Purana – Read Agni Purana Part 1 of 4

The Agni Purana is a mahapurana. It is usually mentioned as eighth in the list of eighteen Puranas. There are about fifteen and a half thousand shlokas in the Agni Purana.

The Agni Purana is one of the encyclopedias of the Vedas. In addition to being divided into parts, this part also consists of topics of diverse nature.

It includes the art of wielding common weapons like swords, maces, etc., judicature, resolving civil disputes and criminal proceedings against offenders and using Vedic hymns for religious and secular purposes.

Observances to warn of the bad effects of porters and planets, worship methods for various deities, descriptions of the recensions of the Vedas, and ways to increase merit through giving Puranas, etc.

A number of chapters describe the Solar, Lunar, and other royal dynasties. A great deal of medical information can be found here.

In addition to human diseases and their treatment by herbs and sacred formulas, those of horses and elephants are also discussed and remedies prescribed for their cure:

The narrator of the Mahapurana, Agni Purana is the fire-god Agni.

Agni related the subject matter of the Purana to the sage Vashishtha, who in turn, passed on the knowledge to Vyasadeva who compiled it. Vyasadeva’s disciple Suta learnt the Purana from his teacher.

As to the date of this Purana, nothing can be said with certainty. It is a compilation of various works written in different periods, no single date can be assigned to the Purana as a whole.

The English Translation of Agni Purana was published in four parts by Motilal Banarsidass Publishers Private Limited, Delhi in 1954.

The presently available Agni Purana consists of 383 chapters. The last chapter of the text gives a list of fifty topics discussed in the text. After the customary opening (chapter 1), the text describes the ten avatars of Vishnu in detail.

The present volume contains the Agni Purana Part 1 (Chapters 1-100) in English Translation.

The early chapters which open this Part 1 describe the glories of the lord in his different forms.

It consists of legends of a Fish saving Manu from drowning in the Cosmic Flood, a Tortoise supporting Mount Mandara at the churning of the ocean, a Boar slaying Daitya Hirayaka, a Man-lion killing Hirayakasa, a Dwarf cheating Bali, Paraurama destroying Kashtriya rulers, as Rama assassinating Rãvaa, as Kra beheading Kathsa, as Buddha preaching the gospel of meditation, as Kalki to slay Mlechchha or Mleccha.

A number of chapters relate to the initiation of a novice to the cult and the rites of initiation. The rites are described in detail.

They are interspersed with the mystic syllables of Tantras which impart efficacy to the ritual concerned. A number of chapters throw light on the characteristics of images, the mode of their installation, and worship.

Scattered here and there are the chapters on creation, on purification of oneself and others, on the positions of fingers (mudras) in worship, and on scores of other topics with details not found in other Puränas.

But, what is certain is the fact that a number of sections were written long before the Mahommedan invasion.

For instance, the chapter on archery and arms civil administration, and military discipline are purely of Hindu character and can claim antiquity. Chapters on medicine and grammar are also old.

Summaries of the Ramayana and Mahabharata indicate that the sections were written when Hinduism was in a flourishing condition and the epic tradition had become sacred.

Sections on avatars on polity and judicature on genealogy and history of ancient kings and distinguished personages also belong to pretty olden times. Sections on religions are also old as they seem to have been written when there was no rift among various sects.