Prosody.pdf

Classical Sanskrit Meters—A Handout §1. This is a course on the most popular meters used in classical Sanskrit. These meters were based on and derived from the meters used in Vedic Sanskrit, but Vedic meters have peculiarities of their own, and they will not concern us here. §2. There are two types of classical Sanskrit meters, based on the counting unit: o Syllabic meters (vṛtta), in which the number of syllables (akṣara or varṇa) is the counting unit; o Moraic or quantitative meters (jā ), in which the number of morae ( ā ā) is the counting unit. By mora here we mean the duration of a sound. Our primary goal here is to learn how to read and recite the most popular syllabic meters. §3. Sanskrit versified compositions (padya) come in stanzas of four quarters (pād ) in two hemistichs or half-verses. Conventionally we call them pād a to d. Depending on how similar the four pād in the stanza are, the syllabic meters are classed in three groups: o Samavṛtta, in which all four lines are the same. These are by far the most common. o Ardhasamavṛtta, in which pād a = pād c, and pād b = pād d. Only a few of these are common. o Viṣamavṛtta, in which all four pād have a different structure. These are very rare. §4. The samavṛtta syllabic meters are further grouped by the number of syllables in every pād , in theory from 1 to 26. In practice, only nine groups are common: o 8 syllables per pād : anuṣṭ śl k ; o 11 syllables per pād : triṣṭubh; o 12 syllables per pād : j ī; o 13 syllables per pād : ij ī; o 14 syllables per pād : ś k ī; o 15 syllables per pād : iś k ī; o 17 syllables per pād : atyaṣṭi; o 19 syllables per pād : atidhṛti; o 21 syllables per pād : prakṛti. In practice, the names of the first three groups are more important and the group name will be preferred over the name of the individual meter. §5. The subtypes in each group of syllabic meters are determined by the structure or distribution of syllables in a pād . Syllables in Sanskrit are of two types: o Heavy (guru): any syllable in which the vowel is long (dī ) or short (hrasva) but followed by two or more consonants is ll l . T , ā is a heavy syllable (as in the word ā ), but so is ma if followed by gna (as in the word magna). Also, a short vowel followed by visarga (ḥ) or anusvara (ṁ) is long. Note two things: ✓ All diphthongs in Sanskrit (e, ai, o, au) are long; ✓ If you are more accustomed to roman transliteration than Devanāgarī, note that the aspirated consonants (kh, gh, etc) are one consonant. Thus, su in sukha is not a heavy syllable. o Light (laghu): any syllable in which the vowel is short and is followed by a single consonant, like in mama, tava, ta ā etc. Uskokov, Sanskrit Meters Handout, SASLI Intermediate Sanskrit 2016 Page 1 §6. Anuṣṭubh. This is the most popular Sanskrit meter, in which the majority of the epics, P āṇas, smṛtis, as well as some of the ā ā y are written. About 90% of the verses written in anuṣṭubh follow the same pattern of distribution of light and heavy syllables. The verse is divided in two halfverses, each consisting of 16 syllables, and each half-verse is divided into 4 quarters. If we take, for instance, the first verse of the Bhagavad- ī ā: dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre ā ḥ| ā kāḥ āṇḍ āś i kim akurvata sañjaya || the first two lines form our half-verse: dharmakṣetre kurukṣetre this 16 syllable verse into four quarters: dharmakṣetre | kurukṣetre | ā ḥ. We will divide ā | yuyutsavaḥ | If we mark long syllables with , short with , and optionally short or long with °, our four quarters will look like this: ° ° ° ° |     | ° ° ° ° |     || The last syllable in quarter 2 or 4 may be short, but it will be considered long by the rule that any syllable before a pause is long. §7. Before going to the triṣṭubh meters, we need to note two more things. Normally a pād in a Sanskrit verse will have a pause, a place where we briefly stop before continuing with chanting. We ill ki i ‘ .T i , i ll ll i S k i yati), should properly be after 4 syllables in anuṣṭubh, but that is not a strict rule. In fact, we see it observed in pād a of our example: dharma-kṣ ‘ k -kṣetre, but not observed in pād : ā kāḥ ‘ āṇḍ ś i , i shifts one syllable ahead. §8. As it will become obvious shortly, Sanskrit prosodists have, for mnemonic purposes, organized clusters of syllables into groups of three (called gaṇa) and marked each of these groups with a specific short syllable. In addition, a loose single short or long syllable was also marked. This device made it possible to express the structure of any meter in a short formula. Thus, the 14 syllable meter Vasantatilakā (in which, for example, the following line is written: ā ik -ś ṃ samare na k ā , i ll i /l ll l :              ; could for memorization purposes be expressed as: ta bha ja ja ga ga. The marks of gaṇas and the loose short and long syllables are: ya ra ta    bha ja sa    na ma   Uskokov, Sanskrit Meters Handout, SASLI Intermediate Sanskrit 2016 la (laghu) ga (guru)   Page 2 It is not absolutely necessary to memorize this notation, but it will be useful to know how to look at it and figure how a formula translates into a full meter. §9. Triṣṭubh. There are several common meters having 11 syllables to the line, three of which are closely related, namely I j ā, U jā U jā i. W ill i i I j ā, syllabic structure is:  The classical definition quoted in Apte is: ā i there are two tas, ja and two gas.” Scheme: ta ta ja ga ga |||| - jā i j ll l , i ḥ, “Let Indravajra be when kā ṇya-doṣopahataā ḥ pṛ ā i āṁ dharmaūḍha- āḥ yac chreyaḥ ā iś i ṁ ū i śiṣyas te 'haṁ śā i āṁ āṁ prapannam || Gī ā . || Upendra- j ā i  I Definition: upendra- j ā the first syllable light.” Scheme: ja ta ja ga ga |||| - jā l l i i i li . ā, “Upendra- j ā i Indra- jā, i tvam akṣaraṁ paramaṁ veditavyaṁ iś ṁ i ā tvam avyayaḥ śāś -dharmaā ā ṁ puruṣo mato me || Gī ā . || U jā i i would be: i i I - jā U - jā l i , i i ° The only requirement is that the initial ° should not be short or long in all four lines, since then it would be either Indra- j ā U - j ā. M iṣṭubh verses in the Bhagavad- ī ā, in fact, i U jā i. Uskokov, Sanskrit Meters Handout, SASLI Intermediate Sanskrit 2016 Page 3 §9.1. Śāli ī. This is a meter dominated by heavy syllables. It is perhaps the first meter in which the caesura is strictly observed. ‘ Definition: ā āli ī l k iḥ, “If two tas and two gas follow after ma, that is called śāli ī.” Scheme: ma ta ta ga ga |||| Caesura: ‘ While caesura is strictly observed, sometimes we see instances in which the first syllable in any of the lines may be short. ā ṁ deho deha- ājāṁ nṛloke kaṣṭā kā ā iḍjāṁ ye tapo divyaṁ kā ṁ ś ā -saukhyaṁ tv anantam || B ā 5.5.1 || §10. J ī. T ll l li . T (called also vaṁś -sthavila or vaṁś -sthanita), whose structure is: i j ī i Vaṁś -stha  Definition: vadanti vaṁś -sthavilaṁ jatau jarau, “When the meter is ja ga ja ra, they call it Vaṁś sthavila.” Scheme: ja ta ja ra ||| sa ucca-kāś l ' k ā -ś ṇa-ś ṇi ā | ā ā ā ḥ kara-kañja-sampuṭe ā j -khaṇḍe kala-haṁsa utsvanaḥ || B ā 1.11.2 || Closely related is the Indra-vaṁśā, whose only difference is that the first syllable is heavy rather than light:  Definition: tac chendra-vaṁśā the first syllable heavy.” Scheme: ta ta ja ra ||| ākṣare gurau, “Indra-vaṁśā i Uskokov, Sanskrit Meters Handout, SASLI Intermediate Sanskrit 2016 V ṁś -stha, with Page 4 The two meters are often mixed in a line. For instance, in the above verse quoted as an instance for Vaṁś , ā i i long syllable and is, thus, in Indra-vaṁśā. §10.1. Druta-vilambita. This meter combines fast and slow pace, as its name suggests:  Definition: druta- il i ā .” Scheme: na bha bha ra ||| , ‘T nigama-kalpa-taror galitaṁ phalaṁ ś k - k ā ṛta-drava-saṁyutam | i ā ṁ āl ṁ ikā i ā kāḥ || B ā ll i il i i na . . || §11. Vasanta-tilakā. Of the meters having 14 syllables to the line, Vasanta- il kā, i ornament of spring,” i l , l Śā ūl - ik īḍita. It structure is: “  Definition: k ā - il kā jā j bha, ja, ja, ga, ga.” Scheme: ta bha ja ja ga ga ||||| F ḥ, ‘It is l , ll V il kā when the sequence is ta, Kāli ā ’ A jñā -śākuntalam: āṇi īkṣ āṃś iś ś ā paryutsuko bhavati yat sukhito 'pi jantuḥ | ā i ū - ū ṃ ā - i āṇi jananāntara-sauhṛ ā i || . || §12. The best-known 15 syllable meter is Māli ī. It has a distinct caesura after the 8th syllable, which is invariantly observed. Its structure is:         ‘       Definition: nanamayayayuteyaṁ āli ī āli ī. I i i .” Scheme: na na ma ya ya i-lokaiḥ, “When the sequence is na na ma ya ya, this is Uskokov, Sanskrit Meters Handout, SASLI Intermediate Sanskrit 2016 Page 5 |||| j j kījayatu jayatu kṛṣṇo vṛṣṇi-vaṁś jayatu jayatu megha-ś ā l ḥ k jayatu jayatu pṛ ī- ā - āś ‘ ṁ ī ḥ lāṅgo k ḥ || Mukunda- ālā || §13. There are several very common and lovely meters with 17 syllables to the line. We will begin with , M āk ā ā. S i M āk ā ā i l ll S k i . Kāli ā ’ Megha-dū is written in M āk ā ā, messenger poems written in the likeness of Megha-dū . It has two distinct caesuras, after the fourth and after the tenth syllable. Its structure is: ’‘ Definition: āk ā ā i-rasa-nagair mo bhanau tau ga, “M āk ā ā has the sequence of ma, bha, na, ta, ta, ga and ga and consists of four [oceans], six [tastes] and seven [ i ].” Scheme: ma bha na ta ta ga ga |||||| For our example, we will use the first verse of the Megha-dū : k ś i kā ā-viraha-guruṇā ā śā ā ṁ-gamitai ā yakṣ ś k j k ā- ā snigdha- ā ā-taruṣu vasatiṃ ikā -pramattaḥ ṣa-bhogyeṇa bhartuḥ | -puṇyodakeṣu ā -giry-āś ṣu || 1 || §13.1. Hariṇī i i , i ll l . Lik M āk ā ā, i i i l ll l i i i i i the last, but here the two are reversed: we begin with five short and continue with five long syllables. T ‘ , l ’, l to convey the gracious manner in which deer jump. The structure is:       ‘    ‘       Definition: lā ḥ ṣaḍvedair hayair hariṇī ā, “H iṇī sa, la and ga, and consists of six, four [Vedas] and seven [horses].” Scheme: na sa ma ra sa la ga |||||| Our example comes from Bhaṭṭ Nā ā ṇ ’ na, sa, ma, ra, Veṇī-saṁ ā : Uskokov, Sanskrit Meters Handout, SASLI Intermediate Sanskrit 2016 Page 6 kṛtam anumataṃ dṛṣṭaṃ ā i i ṃ guru- ā k ṃ manuja- ś i i ā i i ā iḥ | naraka-ripuṇā ā ṃ teṣāṃ sa- ī -ki īṭi ā ayam aham asṛṅāṃsaiḥ k i iśāṃ balim || 3.24 || 13.2. Śik i i has the following structure: ‘ Definition: iś i ā lā ḥ śik , , ,l , , i i , [V ] Scheme: ya ma na sa bha la ga |||||| Our example is from the Brahma-saṁ ś i ḥ kā ā k ā ā cid-ā iṇī, “Śik iṇī [ ].” , , ā: āḥ kā ḥ parama-puruṣaḥ kalpa-taravo ū iś i ā ṇi-gaṇa-mayi toyam amṛtam | ṃ āṭyaṃ gamanam api vaṃśī i -sakhi ṃ jyotiḥ i ā ā i || . || §14. The most famous verse with 19 syllables to the line is at the same time the most widely used meter in classical Sanskrit poetry. Śā ūla- ik īḍita has a distinct and invariant caesura after 12 syllables. Its structure is: ‘ Definition: ū āś i yadi maḥ j āḥ śā ūl - ik īḍitam, “Śā ūl ik īḍita has the sequence of ma, sa, ja, sa, ta, ta, ga. It consists of twelve [Sū i lli i i Ā i , l i number] and seven [ ś —the Sun god’s horses, seven in number].” Scheme: ma sa ja sa ta ta ga |||||| We give one of the maṅgala verses from the Veṇī-saṁ ā . Several beautiful verses in the B ā are written in this meter as well. kāli āḥ pulineṣu keli-k i ā utsṛj ā ṃ ī anugacchato ‘ś -kaluṣāṃ kaṃsa-dviṣ ā ikā | tat- ā i ā- i śi ū -romodgater akṣuṇṇo ‘nunayaḥ prasanna- i ā-dṛṣṭasya puṣṇā ḥ || 1.2 || Uskokov, Sanskrit Meters Handout, SASLI Intermediate Sanskrit 2016 Page 7 §15. The largest meter used with some regularity is the Ś ā, which has 21 syllables to the line. It has two caesuras, dividing the verse in three sections of seven syllables. Its structure is: ‘‘ Definition: i ā āṁ trayeṇa trimuni-yati- ā ā kī i , “S ā has the sequence of ma, ra, bha, ra, ya, ya, ya. It has caesura of three times seven [muni is a sage, there are seven great sages, saptarṣis, in Hinduism.]” Scheme: ma ra bha na ya ya ya || |||| We will take the maṅ l Kāli ā ’ A jñā -śā as our example: ā ṛṣṭiḥ sraṣṭ ā ā i i i-hutaṃ ā i ā ī kāl ṃ vidhattaḥ ś i-viṣaya-guṇā ā i ā ā iś | ā ā ḥ sarva- īj -prakṛ i i i ā āṇinaḥ āṇavantaḥ pratyakṣā iḥ i ā i ṣṭā i īś ḥ || 1.1 || Uskokov, Sanskrit Meters Handout, SASLI Intermediate Sanskrit 2016 Page 8