The world is divided into seven regions (dvipas). Their names are Jambu, Plaksha, Shalmali, Kusha, Krouncha, Shaka and Pushkara. The seven dvipas are surrounded by seven oceans and the names of these oceans and the names of these oceans are Lavana, Ikshu, Sura, Sarpih, Dadhi, Dugdha and Jala.
Right in the centre of Jambudvipa is Mount Meru. Mountains named Himavana, Hemakuta and Nishada are to the south of Meru and mountains named Nila, Shveta and Shringi are to the north of Meru. Jambudvipa is known by that name as there are a large number of jambu (jamun) trees in this area. On the top of Mount Meru is Brahma’s famous city.
Under the earth is the underworld. This too, consists of seven regions and their names are Atala, Vitala, Sutala, Talatala, Mahatala, Rasatala and Patala. The daityas and the danavas live in the underworld. Vishnu is also there in the underworld, in his form of the great snake Shesha. The snake Shesha holds up the earth on its hood.
That part of the sky which is lit up by sun-rays is known as Nabha. Above the earth is the sun, above the sun the moon, above the moon the stars, above the stars Mercury, above Mercury Venus, above Venus Jupiter and above Jupiter the constellation of the great Bear (Saptarshimandala). Beyond this constellation is the world of Dhruva.
Astrology
The Agni Purana next gives a lot of information on astrogy. It states when marriages should take place and when they should not. For example, marriages are never to be held in the months of Chaitra and Pousha or under the signs of Libra or Gemini. If one is going on a trip, then Friday is the best day to start on. Medicine should not be taken if one of the nakshatras (stars Pushya, Hasta, Jyeshtha, Shravana or Ashvini is not in the sky. If one wishes to have a bath after recovering from an illness, then Saturday is the best day for such a bath.
The first time a child’s head is shaved should never be on a Tuesday or a Saturday. Ears should be pierced on Wednesday or Thursday. New Clothes should not first be worn on Wednesday, Thursday or Friday. A new house should not entered into in the months of Chaitra, Jyeshtha, Bhadra, Ashvina, Pousha or Magha. It is best to reap grain on a Wednesday.
Manvantaras
Each manvantara (era) is ruled over by a Manu.
The first Manu was Svayambhuva. Shatakratu held the title of Indra during this manvantara.
The second Manu was Svarochisha. Vipashchita held the title of Indra during this manvatara.
The third Manu was Uttama and Sushanti was Indra then.
The fourth Manu was Tapasa and Shikhi held the title of Indra then.
The fifth Manu was Raivata and Vitatha was Indra then.
The title of Indra was held by Manojava during the sixth manvantara, the Manu being Chakhusha.
Next came Shraddhadeva, the seventh Manu, Purandara being the Indra.
Th eighth Manu’s name is Savarni and the eighth Indra’s Vali. The eighth manvantara has not yet come.
The ninth Manu will be Dakshasavarni and the ninth Indra will be Adbhuta.
During the tenth manvantara, the Manu will be Brahmasavarni and the title of Indra will beheld by Shanti.
During the rule of the eleventh Manu Dharmasavarni, the Indra will be Gana.
The twelfth Manu will be Rudrasavarni and the twelfth Indra will be Ritadhama.
Rouchya will be the thirteenth Manu and Divaspati will be the thirteenth Indra.
The fourteenth Manu will be Bhoutya and the title of Indra will then be held by Shuchi,.
Durng each of Brahma’s days, ther are fourteen such manvantaras. After that comes Brahma’s night, when all these living beings are destroyed.
Varnashrama Dharma
All the Manus practised the precepts of dharma (righteousness). This meant non-violence, truthfulness, piety, going on pilgrimages, donating alms, serving devas and brahmanas, tolerance of all religions and the following of the sacred texts. It also meant the practice of the system of the four classes (varna) and the four stages in life (ashrama).
The four varnas are brahmanas, kshatriyas, vaishyas and shudras. Performing sacrifices, donating alms and studying the Vedas are duties that brahmans, kshatriyas and vaishyas must perform. In addition, the kshatriyas must protect the good and punish the evil. The vaishyas must take care of trade, agriculture and animal husbandry. The dutites of shudras are to serve the brahmanas and artisanship. When brahmanas take up the upavita, the sacred thread that is the mark of the first three classes, it is like a second birth for them. So brahmanas are known as dvijas (born twice).
An anuloma marriage is a marriage where the husband is from a higher class than the wife. The offspring of such a marriage belong to the mother’s class. A pratiloma marriage is a marriage where the wife is from a higher class than the husband. Chandalas were born this way from brahmana women, Sutas from kshatriya women, Devalas from vaishya women, Pukkashas from kshatriya women and Magadhas from vaishya women. Chandalas are executioners, Sutas charioteers, Devalas guards, Pukkashas hunters and Magadhas bards. Chandalas should live outside the villages and should not touch those belonging to any other class.
The best name for a brahmana is that which ends in Sharma. Similarly, the best name for a kshatriya ends in Varma, for a vaishya in Gupta and for a shudra in Dasa. The sacred thread ceremony is to be held at the age of eight years for brahmanas, eleven years for kshatriyas and twelve years for vaishyas. No sacred thread ceremony should be held beyond sixteen years of age.
The first stage in life is that of brahmacharya (studenthood). A student should never eat honey or meat and should never indulge in singing or dancing. He should completely give up violence and speaking to women. His duties are to discuss the shastras (holy texts) and associate with leanred men. Apart from that, he will meditate in solitude on the true nature of the brahman.
The next stage of life is that of garhasthya (householder stage). A brahmana may have four wives, a kshatriya three, a vaishya two and a shudra one. The husband and the wife should be from the same varna. Marriage across varnas is to be avoided. A woman can marry again provided that her husband has disappeared, is dead, has become a hermit or is such a sinner that he is expelled from his own varna. If her husband dies, a widow is permitted to marry her late husband’s late younger brother.
A householder should get up at dawn and pray to the gods. He should always bathe in the morning. He should not talk impolitely. He should not bite his nails. He should not laugh at those who are inferior. And he should never reside in a place where there is no king, no doctor or no river. He must not insult his elders. He should never criticise the Vedas, the shastras, the devas, the sages and the king. And he must never travel without a light at night.
The third ashrama is vanaprastha (forest-dwelling stage). Such a person should always sleep on the ground and wear skins as clothes. He should wear his hair matted and give up the company of other people. He has to serve gods and guests and live on fruit and roots.
In the final stage of life (sannyasa) a person becomes a hermit. In this ashrama, a person attains true knowledge and is completely freed. But he should becomea hemit only when he is convinced that he has completely lost all interest in material pursuits. Such a person is not affected by birth or death. He realizes that the physical body is transient, that it is of no concern at all. It is the knowledge of the atman (soul) that is the best form of knowledge. When one gains this knowledge, one realizes the identification of the atman with the brahman, one understands that the brahman is everywhere.
Sins and Their Atonement
If one commits a sin, one has to atone for it. This is known as prayashchitta. If one does not atone for the sins that one has committed, it is the king’s duty to punish the sinner.
If one drinks from a well where the dead body of animal has been floating, one has to fast for three days. The worst possible sins are the killing of a brahmana, the drinking of wine and theft. Others sins are criticising the Vedas, the bearing of false witness, killing a friend, killing a cow, forsaking one’s parents or sons, the selling of ponds, murder, lying, killing animals and the cutting down of green trees for fodder.
A killer of a brahmana has to build a hut in the forest and live there for twelve years. He has to beg for a living and give up all that he possess to another brahmana. A killer of cows has to live on just coarse for one month. He has to live with cattle and follow them around during the day. All his possessions have to be given up to brahmana and he has to bathe in cow’s urine for two months.
If a brahmana steals gold, he should go and report his crime to the king. The king will then hit him with a club and this will be the brahmana’s prayashchitta.
The sin of killing a kshatriya is one-fourth the sin of killing of brahmana. If one kills a vaishya, the sin is one-eighth the sin of killing a brahmana. And if one kills a shudra, the sin is one-sixteenth of the sin of killing a brahmana. Killing a cat, a mongoose, a frog, a dog, a lizard or a crow is as sinful as killing a shudra.
