''Āryā meter'' is a

meter The metre (British spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) (from the French unit , from the Greek noun , "measure"), symbol m, is the primary unit of length in the International System of Units (SI), though its prefi ...

used in

Sanskrit Sanskrit (; attributively , ; nominally , , ) is a classical language belonging to the Indo-Aryan branch of the Indo-European languages. It arose in South Asia after its predecessor languages had diffused there from the northwest in the late ...

Prakrit The Prakrits (; sa, prākṛta; psu, 𑀧𑀸𑀉𑀤, ; pka, ) are a group of vernacular Middle Indo-Aryan languages that were used in the Indian subcontinent from around the 3rd century BCE to the 8th century CE. The term Prakrit is usu ...

and

Marathi Marathi may refer to: *Marathi people, an Indo-Aryan ethnolinguistic group of Maharashtra, India *Marathi language, the Indo-Aryan language spoken by the Marathi people *Palaiosouda, also known as Marathi, a small island in Greece See also * * ...

verses. A verse in metre is in four metrical lines called ''pāda''s. Unlike the majority of meters employed in classical Sanskrit, the meter is based on the number of s (

morae A mora (plural ''morae'' or ''moras''; often symbolized μ) is a basic timing unit in the phonology of some spoken languages, equal to or shorter than a syllable. For example, a short syllable such as ''ba'' consists of one mora (''monomoraic'') ...

) per . A short syllable counts for one , and a long syllable (that is, one containing a long vowel, or a short vowel followed by two consonants) counts for two s. It is believed that meter was taken from the

gatha ''Gāthā'' is a Sanskrit term for 'song' or 'verse', especially referring to any poetic metre which is used in legends, and is not part of the Vedas but peculiar to either Epic Sanskrit or to Prakrit. The word is originally derived from the Sansk ...

meter of Prakrit. metre is common in Jain Prakrit texts and hence considered as favourite metre of early authors of

Jainism Jainism ( ), also known as Jain Dharma, is an Indian religions, Indian religion. Jainism traces its spiritual ideas and history through the succession of twenty-four tirthankaras (supreme preachers of ''Dharma''), with the first in the current ...

. The earlier form of the metre is called old , which occurs in a some very early Prakrit and Pàli texts.

Āryā

The basic verse has 12, 18, 12 and 15 s in the first, second, third, and fourth ''pāda''s respectively. An example is the following from

Kālidāsa Kālidāsa (''fl.'' 4th–5th century CE) was a Classical Sanskrit author who is often considered ancient India's greatest poet and playwright. His plays and poetry are primarily based on the Vedas, the Rāmāyaṇa, the Mahābhārata and t ...

's play ''

Abhijñānaśākuntalam ''Abhijnanashakuntalam'' (Devanagari: अभिज्ञानशाकुन्तलम्, IAST: ''Abhijñānaśākuntalam''), also known as ''Shakuntala'', ''The Recognition of Shakuntala'', ''The Sign of Shakuntala'', and many other variant ...

'' (c. 400 CE): : : : : : : : – u u , – – , u u – : u – u , – – , u – u , – – , – : u u u u , u – u , – – : – – , – – , u , – – , – :"I do not consider skill in the representation of plays to be good (perfect) until (it causes) the satisfaction of the learned (audience); the mind of even those who are very well instructed has no confidence in itself." Another example is from Nīlakaṇṭha Dīkṣita's '' Vairāgya-śataka'' (17th century CE): : : : : : : : – – , – u u , – – : – – , – u u , u – u , – – , – : – – , – u u , – – : – – , – – , u , – u u , – :"People who know morality, know the inner order of conduct, know the Vedas (sacred knowledge), know the Scriptures or know the Supreme Spirit Himself are plentiful; but rare are those who know about their own ignorance." The metrical treatise lays down several other conditions: # Odd numbered should not be (u – u). # The sixth should be .

Gīti

The meter has 12, 18, 12 and 18 s in its four s respectively. lists several other conditions.

Upagīti

The meter has 12, 15, 12 and 15 s in its four s respectively. lists several other conditions.

Udgīti

The meter has 12, 15, 12 and 18 s in its four ''pāda''s respectively. lists several other conditions.

Āryāgīti

The meter has 12, 20, 12 and 20 s in its four s respectively. lists several other conditions.

References

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External links

Recitation of the above examples by Dr R. Ganesh

Grammatical commentary on Kalidasa's verse

Nilakaṇṭha Dīkṣita
(Hindupedia article) Buddhist poetry Poetic rhythm Indian poetics