Kośa-Varga in the Agni Purāṇa

A kośa is a Sanskrit dictionary or word-book, and a varga is a group or section within it. Classical word-books such as the Amarakośa do not list words in alphabetical order. Instead they gather words by subject: all the names for the sun in one place, all the words for clouds in another, and so on.

The Agni Purāṇa includes such a word-book in Chapters 348 and 360–367. Agni Deva recites it to the assembled ṛṣis. It covers the names of the devas and the realms of the universe, words for svarga (the heavenly realm) and pātāla (the realms below the earth), indeclinable words, words with many meanings, plants and places, words about human life, words connected with each varṇa (social order), and the grammatical gender of common nouns.

Ekākṣara-Kośa: The One-Syllable Word-Book (Chapter 348)

The Agni Purāṇa begins this section with the ekākṣara-kośa, the “one-syllable word-book”. Agni gives the meanings carried by single sounds of the Sanskrit alphabet. Some examples:

  • ā = Viṣṇu, Brahmā; also a particle meaning a limit or boundary, and (as an avyaya, an unchanging word) an expression of pain
  • i = Manmatha (Kāmadeva)
  • ī = Rati, Lakṣmī
  • u = Śiva
  • ū = protectors and guardians
  • ṛ = sound; also Aditi
  • ga (as gaN) = Diti, Kumārasvāmī
  • e = Devī
  • ai = yoginī
  • o = Brahmā
  • au = Maheśvara
  • aṃ = Manmatha
  • āḥ = praśasta (excellence)
  • kha = Brahmā and the great ones
  • g = Gandharva, Vināyaka; also (in the neuter) gīta, song
  • ṭha = the circle of the moon, śūnya (emptiness), Śiva
  • ḍa = Rudra, sound, fear
  • dha = Brahmā, the trumpeting horn
  • na = samūha (a multitude), Bauddha
  • ra = Agni, the sun, Indra
  • la = Vidhātā (Brahmā as creator)
  • va = separation, Varuṇa
  • ḥa = dhāra, Rudra
  • kṣa = kṣetra (field), akṣara (the imperishable), Narasiṃha, Hari, the kṣatriya order, the protector

The chapter says that the series of one-syllable mantras, which begins with “kṣāṃ hayaśirase namaḥ”, gives all knowledge (sarva-vidyā-prada). The nine sounds beginning with “a” (akārādi akṣara-navaka) are themselves the highest mātṛkā-mantras (mantras of the letters). They are to be placed on the petals of a lotus diagram and worshipped. On them the nava-Durgās are honoured in pūjā: Bhagavatī, Kātyāyanī, Kauśikī, Caṇḍikā, Pracaṇḍā, Suranāyikā, Ugrapārvatī and Durgā. The chapter also gives the Durgā-gāyatrī:

Oṃ Caṇḍikāyai vidmahe, Bhagavatyai dhīmahi, tanno Durgā pracodayāt.

Svarga-Pātāla-Varga: Words for the Upper and Lower Realms (Chapter 360)

Chapter 360 gives words for svarga above and pātāla below. Agni arranges it as a large list of synonyms, covering the main parts of the seen and unseen universe, with the Sanskrit words and what they refer to.

Names of svarga: svas, svarga, nāka, tridiva, dyo, div (both masculine and feminine) and triviṣṭapa all mean svarga.

Classes of divine beings: devāḥ, vṛndārakāḥ and lekhāḥ mean the thirty devas. Also listed are the Rudras and their gaṇas (attendants), and the Vidyādharas, Apsarases, Yakṣas, Rākṣasas, Gandharvas, Kinnaras, Piśācas, Guhyakas, Siddhas and Bhūtas, all counted as deva-yonis (classes of heavenly beings). The asuras and daityas are called deva-dviṣas, “enemies of the devas”.

The main devas and their other names:

  • Brahmā: Ātmabhū, Surajyeṣṭha
  • Viṣṇu: Nārāyaṇa, Hari
  • Balarāma: Revatīśa, Halī, Rāma
  • Manmatha: Kāma, Pañcaśara, Smara
  • Lakṣmī: Padmālayā, Padmā
  • Śiva: Śarva, Sarveśvara; his matted hair is called kaparda; his bows are called Pināka and Ajagava; his gaṇas are the Pramathas
  • Pārvatī: Mṛḍānī, Caṇḍikā, Ambikā
  • Gaṇapati: Dvaimātura, Gajāsya
  • Kumārasvāmī: Sevānī, Agnibhū, Guha
  • Indra: Ākhaṇḍala, Sunāsīra, Sutrāmā, Divaspati; his wife Śacī or Pulomajā; his palace Vaijayanta; his son Jayanta; his elephant Airāvata, Abhramātaṅga or Airāvaṇa; his weapon the vajra (also kuliśa, khadira, pavi)
  • Viṣṇu’s court hall: Sudharmā; the river of svarga: Svargagaṅgā or Suradīrghikā
  • Yama: Dharmarāja, Paratarāṭ, Kāla, Haṃtaka, Daṇḍadhara, Śrāddhadeva
  • Rākṣasas: also called Koṇapa, āsap, kravyāda, yātudhāna, nairṛta
  • Varuṇa: Pracetas, Pāśī
  • Vāyu: Śvasana, Sparśana, Anila, Sadāgati, Mātariśvan, Prāṇa, Marut, Samīraṇa
  • Agni: Vahni, Dhanañjaya, Jātavedas, Kṛṣṇavartman, Āyāśa, Hiraṇyaretas, Śukra, Āśuśukṣaṇi, Śuci; the fire under the sea: Aurva, Vāḍava
  • Kubera: Guhyakeśa, Yakṣarāja, Rājarāja, Dhanādhipa; his mounts are the Kinnaras and Kiṃpuruṣas
  • Ākāśa (the sky): vyoma, ardha, puṣkara, ambara, dyo, div, antarikṣa, kha
  • Directions (diś): kāṣṭhā, āśā, kakubh; all feminine
  • Clouds: vārida, megha, stanayitnu, jīmūta; kādambinī (a row of clouds); garjita (thunder)
  • Lightning: śampā, śatahradā, hrādinī, airāvatī, kṣaṇaprabhā, taḍit, saudāminī, vidyut, cañcalā, capalā
  • Moon: abja, jaivātṛka, soma, glau, mṛgāṅka, kalānidhi, vidhu, kumudabandhu; a sixteenth part of the moon is a kalā
  • Sun: haridaśva, bradhna, pūṣā, dyumaṇi, mihira, ravi; his halo: pariveṣa or paridhi; his rays: kiraṇa, usra, mayūkha, gabhasti, marīci, dīdhiti
  • The saptarṣis (seven great ṛṣis) are named as Marīci, Atri and the others; they are called citraśikhaṇḍinaḥ

Pātāla and related words: The corresponding section names the seven pātālas and those who live there, their rivers and mountains, and the nāgas (serpent beings). The Vaitaraṇī river, the boundary river of Yamaloka (the realm of Yama), is also listed as a major feature.

Avyaya-Varga: Indeclinable Words (Chapter 361)

Chapter 361 gives the avyayas, the Sanskrit words that never change their form. These include particles, adverbs, conjunctions and prepositions. They are defined as words that do not take case endings (the sup endings). The chapter goes through the main kinds of avyaya and their meanings:

  • Words of time: adya (today), śvas (tomorrow), paraśvas (the day after tomorrow), hyaḥ (yesterday)
  • Words of place: atra, tatra, kutra
  • Words of manner: yathā, tathā, ittham
  • Words of degree and comparison: ati, bhṛśa, nūnam
  • The main conjunctions: ca, vā, tu, api, eva, atha, hi, khalu, kila, nu, nanu, tad, ced
  • Words of direction: dakṣiṇā, uttarā, puraḥ, paścāt
  • Words of emphasis and limiting: eva, kevalam, mātra, iva
  • Words of yes and no: oṃ, āma, na, mā, naḥ, alam

Nānārtha-Varga: Words with Many Meanings (Chapter 362)

Chapter 362 lists Sanskrit words that carry several different meanings. Each such word is given, followed by the range of its senses. This works like the aneka-artha-kāṇḍa (“section on words with many meanings”) of the classical word-books. It shows how well the Sanskrit tradition understood that one word can hold several quite different meanings.

The examples include common words from nature, society, the devas and the ordering of the universe, each with two, three or more clearly separate meanings in different settings. The Agni Purāṇa gives them without explanation, trusting the student to know the settings. The chapter is a key help for reading the śāstras (sacred teachings), where a word is often chosen on purpose to carry more than one layer of meaning.

Bhūmi-Vanauṣadhi-Varga: Earth, Forests and Healing Plants (Chapter 363)

Chapter 363 gives words for the earth, forests and medicinal plants. It covers:

  • Words for land: land, terrain, mountain, valley, riverbank, forest, desert, and the different kinds of ground.
  • Names of trees (vṛkṣa-nāmas): the main trees of India with their Sanskrit names, grouped by type (flowering, fruit-bearing, medicinal, sacred).
  • Medicinal herbs (auṣadhi): a large part of the chapter gives the names of healing plants, including herbs, roots, barks and plant products. This reflects the knowledge of Āyurveda (the traditional science of health) held within the Purāṇa.
  • Kinds of plants: general words for grass, creepers, shrubs and forest plants, with their synonyms.

The chapter works as a word-list of plants and places, keeping alive the native Sanskrit names for India’s plant life and land.

Manuṣya-Varga: Words for Human Life (Chapter 364)

Chapter 364 gives the Sanskrit words for human social and bodily life. This includes:

  • Family words: father, mother, son, daughter, husband, wife, brother, sister, uncle, aunt and their Sanskrit synonyms, with the masculine and feminine forms carefully kept.
  • Parts of the body: the outer body (head, face, eyes, ears, nose, mouth, arms, legs, hands, feet) and the inner organs, in line with the Āyurvedic knowledge of the body.
  • Social roles: words for a person in general, the householder, the wanderer, and various roles in society.

Brahma-Varga: Words of the Brāhmaṇas and Sacred Learning (Chapter 365)

Chapter 365 gives the words connected with the brāhmaṇa order and sacred learning. It includes:

  • Names for different levels and kinds of brāhmaṇa learning and skill
  • Names for the sacred texts: the four Vedas (Ṛg, Sāma, Yajur and Atharva) and their parts; the Upaniṣads, Āraṇyakas, Brāhmaṇas and Vedāṅgas
  • Names for the roles in rituals: the various officiating roles in śrauta rites (large Vedic fire rituals) and smārta rites (household rites based on the smṛti texts)
  • Names for the stages of learning: brahmacarya (student life), and the position of śiṣya (student) and ācārya (teacher)
  • Sacred titles and forms of respect used for learned brāhmaṇas

This chapter keeps the technical words of the Vedic tradition of learning as the Agni Purāṇa understands it.

Kṣatra-Viṭ-Śūdra-Varga: Words of the Other Three Varṇas (Chapter 366)

Chapter 366 carries the varṇa words on to the other three social orders:

  • Kṣatriya words: words for the warrior order, including the king and his titles, the royal court, the army, weapons, battle formations and ideas of righteous kingship; also the technical words of governing (rāja-dharma, the duties of a king).
  • Vaiśya (viṭ) words: words for trade, farming, cattle-keeping, and the business and productive work of the vaiśya varṇa.
  • Śūdra words: words for service work, the crafts and trades given to the śūdra order, and the social arrangements that guide these roles.

So the chapter gives a full set of words for varṇāśrama-dharma (the duties of each social order and stage of life), arranged by social role.

Sāmānya-Nāmaliṅgāni: The Gender of Common Nouns (Chapter 367)

Chapter 367 deals with the grammatical gender of common Sanskrit nouns. Many nouns do not fit neatly into one group, and a student must know their gender to use them correctly. The chapter is a guide to the gender of often-used words, adding to the gender notes already given in the earlier chapters.

It covers nouns that are masculine in some meanings and feminine or neuter in others (the ubhayaliṅga and triliṅga groups); nouns that are always masculine, always feminine or always neuter even though their form does not show it; and the rules for gender when a noun is part of a compound word compared with when it stands alone.

Sources

  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 348
  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 360
  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 361
  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 362
  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 363
  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 364
  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 365
  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 366
  • Agni Purāṇa, Chapter 367