27.3 SOME OTHER METERS IN SANSKRIT
OTHER MOST COMMON METERS
No. of syllables in each quarter: This is the first thing that you look for in order to identify the meter. If there are more than eight, we look at the triad sequence. In a triad of three successive syllables (=alphabets in Sanskrit), there are eight possibilities of the occurrence of the S and L sequence ('S' meaning 'short' (=laghu) and 'L' meaning 'long' (= 'guru')).
The eight Triad sequences: SSS; LLL; SSL; LLS; SLS; LSL; LSS; SLL.
They have names: na; ma ; sa; ta; ja ; ra; bha; ya
How does one remember this mumbo-jumbo? This is where Sanskrit excels. They commit to memory just only one mantra-like formula, namely
ya-mA-tA-rA-ja-bhA-na-sa-la-gA (*)
which helps them to know all the eight triads and their names, thus. For each syllable you pull out the triad in (*) following that syllable, starting from that syllable:
'ya' stands for ya-mA-tA; this has the three syllables in the order SLL.
'ma' stands for mA-tA-rA; this has the three syllables in the order LLL
'ta' stands for tA-rA-ja; this has the three syllables in the order LLS
'rA' stands for rA-ja-bhA; this has the three syllables in the order LSL
'ja' stands for ja-bhA-na ; this has the three syllables in the order SLS
'bhA' stands for bhA-na-sa; this has the three syllables in the order LSS
'na' stands for na-sa-la ; this has the three syllables in the order SSS
'sa' stands for sa-la-gA ; this has the three syllables in the order SSL
Examples: In each case the shastra of meters (chandas-shAstra) has a shloka which uses the above symbolism to define that meter. (though we do not cite below this defining shloka for every example). For each shloka-example we cite only one quarter.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------11 Eleven syllables in each quarter. :
LLS/LLS/SLS/LL(S)
Indra-vajrA (also called by another name: upajAti)
-
ast-yut-ta-ras-yAM di-shi de-va-tAt-mA (first quarter of first shloka from Kalidasa's Kumarasambhava)
-
shri vaidyanAthAya namaH shivAya (from vaidyanatha ashtottaram)
-
vAsAmsi jIrNAni yathA vihAya (from the Gita)
-
lokAs-samastAs-sukhino-bhavantu
-
kArpaNyadoshho.apahata-svabhAvaH
The defining shloka for this meter 'indravajra' ends like this:
'syAd-indravajrAs-ta-ta-jAs--tato-gau'
i.e., 'becomes indravajra (which is) the sequence of triads ta-ta-ja-ja and then two long.
Using the symbolism explained above, this sequence of triads reduces to
LLS/LLS/SLS/LL .
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Three more meters with eleven syllables in each quarter
SLS / LLS /SLS /LL Upendra-vajrA
1.Namah-shivAbhyAM nava-yauvanAbhyAM
2.manojavaM mAruta tulyavegaM
3. avaimi cainAM anagheti kim tu
4.namostu rAmAya salakshmaNAya
5. tvamAdidevaH purushhaH purANaH
LSL/SSS/LSL/SL
RathoddhatA
-
yatra yatra raghunAtha-kIrtanaM
LLL/LLS/LLS/LL
ShAlinI
1.ekodevah keshavo vA shivo vA
2. nAhaM deho nendriyANyantarango
---------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
12 syllables in each quarter:
SLL/SLL/SLL/SLL
BhujangaprayAta
-
kumAreshasUno guha-skanda-senA
-
sadA rAma rAmeti rAmAmRtaM te
-
mano buddhyamkAra-chittAni nAhaM
SSS/LSS/LSS/LSL Druta-vilambita
-
vara-parAshara-gotra-samudbhavaM
-
nigamakalpa-tarorgalitaM phalaM
SLS/LLS/SLS/LSL Vamshastha
-
tvameva tAvatparicintaya svayaM
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
13 syllables
SLL/LLL/LSL/LSL/L ChandriNI
1.suvarNaprAkAre'shAnyadigbhittibhAge
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
14 syllables
LLS/LSS/SLS/SLS/LL Vasanta-tilaka
-
tvaM nityamukta-parishuddha vibuddha AtmA
-
mAtA mameti nagarAja sutorupIThaM
The definuing shloka for 'Vasantatilakam' ends like this:
jneyaM vasantatilakam ta-bha-jA jagau gaH
meaning 'know it as Vasanta-tilakam which has the triad sequence
ta-bha-jA-ja plus two long syllables
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
16 syllables
SLS/LSL/SLS/LSL/SLS/L (Pancha-chamara)
1. jaTAkaTAha sambrahma bramannilimpanirjarI
2. mudAkarAttamodakaM sadAvimuktidAyakaM
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
17 syllables
LLL/LSS/SSS/LLS/LLS/LL MandAkrAntA
-
kascit kAntA virahaguruNA svAdhikArAt pramattaH
-
shAn-tA-kA-raM bhu-ja-ga-sha-ya-naM pad-ma-nA-bhaM su-re-shaM
SLL/LLL/SSS/SSL/LSS/SL ShikhariNI
1. shivaH shaktyAyukto yadi bhavati shaktaH prabhavituM
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
19 syllables
LLL/SSL/SLS/SSL/LLS/LLS/L ShArdUla-vikrIditaM
1. am-bA shAm-bha-vi can-dra-mou-li-ra-ba-lA par-NA u-mA pAr-va-tI
2. yAkundendu tushArahA davaLA yA shubra-vastrAvRtA
3. vishvaM darpaNa dRshyamAna-nagarI tulyaM nijAntargataM
---------------------------------------------------------------------------
21 syllables
LLL/LSL/LSS/SSS/SLL/SLL/SLL
Sragdhara
-
kshirodanvatpradeshe suchimaNivilasatsaikatair-mauktikAnAM
-
dRshhTAnto naiva dRshhTastribhuvanajaThare sadgurorjnAnadAtuH
-
bhItirnAmadvitIyAd bhavati nanu manaH kalpitamca dvitIyaM
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
All the above have the same number of syllables in the four quarters of the verse. There are meters called 'vishama-vritta', which have different number of syllables in the different quarters. Here is one simple example. This occurs in Kalidasa's Raghuvamsa 7th chapter where Kalidasa has to describe the wailing of the King Aja over the untimely death of his wife and the meter employed reflectts the melancholy state:
SSL/SSL/SLS/L in the first and third quarter which have 10 syllables each
SSL/LSS/LSL/SL in the second and fourth quarter which have 11 syllables each
The shloka is:
a-tha-vA ma-ma bhA-gya-vi-pla-vAd a-sha-niH kalpita e-shha ve-dha-sA /
yadanena tarurnapAtito kshapitA tadviTapAshritA latA //