Agni Purana

ऊतीर्थादागतं दग्धमप्रवर्णञ्च भक्षितं । एवमुच्चारणं पापमेवमुच्चारणं शुभम् ।। ३३६.

That which comes from an improper place, is burnt, or is eaten without a letter—such pronunciation is sinful, and such pronunciation is auspicious.

अतीर्थादागतं द्रव्यं साम्नायं सुव्यवस्थितं । सुस्वरेण सुवक्त्रेण प्रयुक्तं ब्रह्मराजनि ।। ३३६.

That substance which comes from a proper place, is well arranged in the recitation, and is uttered by a good voice and mouth, O king of Brahmins.

न करालो न लम्वोष्ठो नाव्यक्ता नानुनासिकः । गद्गदो बहुजिह्वश्च न वर्णान् वक्तुमर्हति ।। ३३६.

One who is grimacing, with hanging lips, indistinct, or nasal; stammering, or with many tongues—such a one should not pronounce the letters.

एवं वर्णाः प्रयोक्तव्या नाव्यक्ता न च पीड़िताः । सम्यग्वर्णप्र्योगेण ब्रह्मलोके महीयते ।। ३३६.

Thus, the sounds should be pronounced clearly, not indistinctly nor forcibly; by proper articulation of sounds, one attains honor in the world of Brahma.

उदात्तश्चानुदात्तश्च स्वरितश्च स्वरास्त्रयः । ह्रस्वो दीर्घः प्लुत इति कालतो नियमावधि ।। ३३६.

There are three tones: udātta, anudātta, and svarita; and in terms of duration, short, long, and protracted are prescribed.

कण्ठ्या वहाविचुयशास्तालव्या ओष्ठजा वुपु । स्युर्मूर्द्धन्या ऋटुरसाः दन्त्याः लृतुलसाः स्मृताः ।। ३३६.

The sounds are produced from the throat, lips, palate, and teeth; those from the crown are called ṛ and ṛṣa, those from the teeth are lṛ and lṛṣa, as remembered.

जिह्वामूले तु कुः प्रोक्तो दन्त्योष्ठो वः स्मृतो बुधैः । एदैतौ कण्ठतालव्यौ ओ औ कण्ठ्यौष्ठजौ स्मृतौ ।। ३३६.

At the root of the tongue, 'ku' is said; 'va' is known by the learned as dental-labial; 'e' and 'ai' are throat-palatal, 'o' and 'au' are throat-labial, as remembered.

अर्द्धमात्रा तु कण्ठस्य एकारैकारयोर्भवेत् । अयोगवाहा विज्ञेया आश्रयस्थानभागिनः ।। ३३६.

A half-measure exists for the throat in the case of 'e' and 'ai'; the unjoined sounds are to be understood as belonging to their respective places of articulation.

अचोऽस्पृष्टापणस्त्वीषन्नोमाः स्पृष्टा हलः स्मृताः । शेषाः स्पृष्टा हलः प्रोक्ता निबोधात्र प्रधानतः ।। ३३६.

Among vowels, those not touched are called 'aspṛṣṭa', while the consonants are 'spṛṣṭa'; the remaining consonants are also called 'spṛṣṭa', understand this as the principal rule.

अमोऽनुनासिकानक्रौ नादिमौ हसपः स्मृता । ईषन्नादोपणयशः स्वासिनश्च थकादयः ३३६.

'am' is non-nasal, 'an' and 'au' are nasal, 'ha', 'sa', and 'pa' are remembered as such; those with slight sound at the lips are 'tha' and others, who are their own kind.

अग्निरुवाच काव्यस्य नाटकादेश्च अलङ्कारान् वदाम्यऽथ । ध्वनिर्व्वर्णाः पदं वाक्यमित्येतद्वाङ्‌मयं मतं ।। ३३७.

Agni said: I shall now speak of the ornaments of poetry and drama; sound, letter, word, and sentence—these are considered the elements of speech.

शास्त्रेतिहासवाक्यानां त्रयं यत्र समाप्यते । शास्त्रे शब्दप्रधानात्वमितिहासेषु निष्ठता ।। ३३७.

Where the three—scriptural, historical, and poetic sentences—are found together, in scripture, sound predominates, while in history, meaning is paramount.

अभिधायाः प्रधानत्वात् काव्यं ताभ्यां विभिद्यते । नरत्वं दुर्ल्लभं लोके विद्यातत्र च दुर्ल्लभा ।। ३३७.

Because direct expression predominates, poetry is distinguished from the other two; humanity is rare in the world, and knowledge there is also rare.

कवित्वं दुर्ल्लभं तत्र शक्तिस्तत्र च दुर्ल्लभा । व्युत्‌पत्तिर्दुर्ल्लभा तत्र विवेकस्तत्र दुर्लभः ।। ३३७.

Poetic talent is rare there, and ability is also rare; learning is rare there, and discernment is rare as well.

सर्व्वं शास्त्रमविद्वद्भिर्मृग्यमाणन्न सिध्यति । आदिवर्णा द्वितीयश्च महाप्राणास्तुरीयकः ।। ३३७.

All scripture, when sought by the unlearned, does not succeed; the first and second sounds, the third is with strong breath.

वर्गेषु वर्णवृन्दं स्यात्पदं सुप्‌तिङ्‌प्रभेदतः । सङ्‌क्षेपाद्वाक्यमिष्टार्थव्यवछिन्ना पदाबली ।। ३३७.

In groups, there is a collection of sounds; a word is distinguished by case and verb endings; briefly, a sentence is a collection of words expressing a desired meaning.

काव्यं स्फटदलङ्कारं गुणवद्दोषवर्जितम् । योनिर्व्वेदश्च लोकश्च सिद्धमन्नादयोनिजं ।। ३३७.

Poetry is clear, adorned, endowed with virtues and free from faults; its origin is the Veda and the world, established from food and other sources.

देवादीनां संस्कृतं स्यात् प्राकृतं त्रिविधं नृणां । गद्यं पद्यञ्च मिश्रञ्च काव्यादि त्रिविधं स्मृतम् ।। ३३७.

For gods and others, Sanskrit is used; for humans, three kinds of Prakrit; prose, verse, and mixed—these three are remembered as types of poetry and the like.

आपदः पदसन्तानो गद्यन्तदपि गद्यते । चूर्णकोत्‌कलिकागन्धिवृत्तभेदात् त्रिरूपकम् ।। ३३७.

A series of words forms prose, and that too is called prose; due to the distinctions of cūrṇa, utkalikā, and gandhi, it is threefold in form.

अल्पाल्पविग्रहं नातिमृदुसन्दर्भनिर्भरं । तूर्णकं नामतो दीर्घसमासात् कलिका भवेत् ।। ३३७.

When the structure is brief, not too soft, and dense in arrangement, it is called tūrṇaka; from lengthy compounds, kalikā arises.

भवेन्मध्यमसन्दर्भन्नातिकुत्सितविग्रहम् । वृत्तच्छायाहरं वृत्तं गन्धिनैतत् किलोत्‌कटम् ।। ३३७.

When the arrangement is moderate, not excessively flawed in structure, and possesses the shadow of meter, it is called gandhi, and this is said to be utkaṭa.

आख्यायिका कथा खण्डकथा परिकथा तथा । कथानिकेति मन्यन्ते गद्यकाव्यञ्च पञ्चधा ।। ३३७.

They consider the narrative, the tale, the fragmentary story, the extended story, and the storylet to be the five forms of prose poetry.

कर्तृवंशप्रशंसा स्याद्यत्र गद्येन विस्तरात् । कन्याहरणसंग्रामविप्रलम्भविपत्तयः ।। ३३७.

Where there is elaborate praise of the author's lineage in prose, and the events of bride abduction, battle, separation, and misfortune occur.

भवन्ति यत्र दीप्ताश्च रीतिवृत्तिप्रवृत्तयः । उच्छासैश्च चपरिच्छेजो यत्र या चूर्णकोत्तरा ।। ३३७.

Where vivid customs, conduct, and actions are found, and where there are outbursts, abrupt endings, and the so-called 'fragmentary conclusion.'

. वक्त्रं वापरवक्त्रं वा यत्र साख्यायिका स्मृता । श्लोकैः स्ववंशं संक्षेपात् कविर्यत्र प्रशंसति ।। ३३७.

Where the narrative is told by the author or another speaker, it is called 'ākhyāyikā'; where the poet briefly praises his own lineage in verses.

मुख्यस्यार्थावताराय भवेद्यत्र कथान्तरम् । परिच्छेदो न यत्र स्याद्भवेद्वालम्भकैः क्कचित् ।। ३३७.

Where, for the introduction of the main subject, another story appears, and where there is no division, but sometimes there are supporting episodes.

सा कथा नाम तद्‌गर्भे निबध्नीयाच्चतुष्पदीं । भवेत् खण्डकथा यासौ परिकथा तयोः ।। ३३७.

That is called 'kathā', and within it, four-line verses should be composed; the fragmentary story is 'khaṇḍakathā', and the extended story is 'parikathā'.

अमात्यं सार्थकं वापि द्विजं वा नायकं विदुः । स्यात्तयोः करुणं विद्धि विप्रलम्भश्च तुर्व्विधः ।। ३३७.

They know the minister, merchant, or twice-born as the hero in those two; understand that the emotional tone is either pathos or separation, in twofold manner.

. समाप्यते तयोर्न्नाद्या सा कथामनुधावति । कथाख्याथिकयोर्म्मिश्रमावात् परिकथा स्मृता ।। ३३७.

Of those two, the first is concluded, and the story follows after; the mixed form of narrative and story is called 'parikathā'.