''Mātrika'' metre is a quantitative system of poetic metre in
Indo-Aryan languages
The Indo-Aryan languages (or sometimes Indic languages) are a branch of the Indo-Iranian languages in the Indo-European languages, Indo-European language family. As of the early 21st century, they have more than 800 million speakers, primarily ...
.
The unit of measurement is the ''
mātrā'' or 'beat', from which it takes its name. A short vowel or a pause is counted as one ''mātrā'', and long vowels, diphthongs, or a short vowel followed by a consonant cluster counts as two ''mātrās''. In recitation, however, 'long vowels may be pronounced as short, or short as long, in order to fit the words into the desired metre. For this reason, the ''mātrā'' count does not always correspond exactly to the written vowel arrangement.' Different ''mātrika'' metres have different rules determining caesurae; most require a specific pattern of rhyme.
The most popular of these metres in Hindi are the ''
chaupāī'' (sixteen ''mātrās''), the ''chaupaī'' (fifteen ''mātrās''), and the ''
dohā'' (thirteen ''mātrās'' in the first and third feet and eleven, along with end-rhyme in the second and fourth).
See also
*
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 ...
References
Sanskrit words and phrases
Poetic rhythm
Indian poetics
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