( sa, अनुष्टुभ्, ) is a meter and a metrical unit, found in both
Vedic
upright=1.2, The Vedas are ancient Sanskrit texts of Hinduism. Above: A page from the '' Atharvaveda''.
The Vedas (, , ) are a large body of religious texts originating in ancient India. Composed in Vedic Sanskrit, the texts constitute the ...
and
Classical Sanskrit poetry, but with significant differences.
By origin, an anuṣṭubh stanza is a
quatrain of four lines. Each line, called a ''pāda'' (lit. "foot"), has eight syllables.
In Vedic texts
Arnold distinguishes three varieties of anuṣṭubh in the Vedic corpus: an early free form, with very few restrictions except a general iambic (u – u x) tendency in the cadence (vṛtta) of each of the four ''pāda''s; e.g.
: , , – – – – , u – u – ,
: , ‖ – – – – , u – u – ‖
: , , – – – u , u – u u ,
: , ‖ – – – – , u – u – ‖
Next came a mildly trochaic development in the opening of each ''pāda''; and finally the development of the "epic anuṣṭubh" (mostly in the
Atharvaveda
The Atharva Veda (, ' from ' and ''veda'', meaning "knowledge") is the "knowledge storehouse of ''atharvāṇas'', the procedures for everyday life".Laurie Patton (2004), Veda and Upanishad, in ''The Hindu World'' (Editors: Sushil Mittal and G ...
) prefiguring the classical
śloka
Shloka or śloka ( sa, श्लोक , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927). in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is ...
form. Although in these hymns the iambic cadence of the first verse is still the most frequent (25%) of all varieties, it is already very nearly equalled (23%) by the normal and characteristic cadence of the first verse in the epic anuṣṭhubh (
śloka
Shloka or śloka ( sa, श्लोक , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927). in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is ...
), where the iambic cadence in the first verse has entirely disappeared.
In Classical Sanskrit: the ''śloka''
In classical Sanskrit the ''anuṣṭubh'' developed into its specific epic form known as ''
śloka
Shloka or śloka ( sa, श्लोक , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927). in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is ...
'', as described above, which may be considered the Indian verse ''par excellence'', occurring, as it does, far more frequently than any other meter in classical Sanskrit poetry.
By the 5th century CE, in the poetry of
Kalidasa, the ''śloka'' had the restricted form shown in the table above. Each half-verse of 16 syllables can take either a pathyā ("normal") form or one of several vipulā ("extended") forms. The ''pathyā'' and ''vipulā'' half-verses are arranged in the table above in order of frequency of occurrence. The most common is the ''pathyā''. Out of 2579 half-verses taken from
Kalidasa,
Bharavi
Bharavi () was a 6th century Indian poet known for his epic poem '' Kirātārjunīya'', one of the six ''mahakavyas'' in classical Sanskrit.
Time and place
As with most Sanskrit poets, very few concrete details are available about Bharavi's life ...
,
Magha, and
Bilhana
Kaviraj, Kavi Bilhana was an 11th-century Kashmiri Pandits, Kashmiri poet. He is known for his love poem, the ''Caurapañcāśikā''.
According to legend, Bilhana fell in love with the daughter of King Madanabhirama, Princess Yaminipurnatilaka, ...
, each of the four admissible forms of shloka in this order claims the following share: 2289, 116, 89, 85;
[Macdonell (1927), p. 233.] that is, 89% of the half-verses have the regular ''pathyā'' form.
In earlier epic, such as the
Mahabharata
The ''Mahābhārata'' ( ; sa, महाभारतम्, ', ) is one of the two major Sanskrit epics of ancient India in Hinduism, the other being the ''Rāmāyaṇa''. It narrates the struggle between two groups of cousins in the Kuruk ...
, a fourth ''vipula'' is found, namely:
:, x x x –, , – u – x , ,
Two rules that apply in every ''śloka'' are:
:1. In both ''pāda''s, in syllables 2–3, u u is not allowed.
:2. In the second ''pāda'', in syllables 2–4, – u – is not allowed.
Notes
Bibliography
* Arnold, E. V. ''Vedic metre in its historical development'', Cambridge, University Press, 1905
* Hopkins, E. W. ''The Great Epic of India'', C. Scribner's Sons, New York, 1901
* MacDonald, Anne
"Revisiting the Mūlamadhyamakakārika: Text-Critical Proposals and Problems."''Indotetsugaku-Bukkyōgaku-Kenkyū'' 14 (2007), 25-55
* Macdonell, Arthur A. (1927), ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927) Appendix II.
* Macdonell, Arthur A. (1916), A Vedic Grammar for Students Appendix II, p. 438. (Oxford University Press, 1916).
*
* Steiner, Roland. "Die Lehre der Anuṣṭubh bei den indischen Metrikern." ''Suhṛllekāḥ'', ''Festgabe für Helmut Eimer''. (''Indica et Tibetica'' 28). Eds. Hahn, Michael & Jens-Uwe Hartmann. Swisttal-Odendorf (1996), 227-248.
See also
*
Vedic meter
Vedic metre refers to the poetic metre in the Vedic literature. The study of Vedic metre, along with post-Vedic metre, is part of Chandas, one of the six Vedanga disciplines.
Overview
In addition to these seven, there are fourteen less frequent ...
*
Sanskrit prosody
Sanskrit prosody or Chandas refers to one of the six Vedangas, or limbs of Vedic studies.James Lochtefeld (2002), "Chandas" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, , page 140 It is the study of poetic metr ...
*
Shloka
Shloka or śloka ( sa, श्लोक , from the root , Macdonell, Arthur A., ''A Sanskrit Grammar for Students'', Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927). in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is ...
{{DEFAULTSORT:Anustubh
Sanskrit words and phrases
Poetic rhythm
Stanzaic form
Indian poetics