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Vedic metre refers to the
poetic metre In poetry, metre ( Commonwealth spelling) or meter (American spelling; see spelling differences) is the basic rhythmic structure of a verse or lines in verse. Many traditional verse forms prescribe a specific verse metre, or a certain set o ...
in the Vedic literature. The study of Vedic metre, along with post-Vedic metre, is part of
Chandas 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 ...
, one of the six
Vedanga The Vedanga ( sa, वेदाङ्ग ', "limbs of the Veda") are six auxiliary disciplines of Hinduism that developed in ancient times and have been connected with the study of the Vedas:James Lochtefeld (2002), "Vedanga" in The Illustrated Enc ...
disciplines.


Overview

In addition to these seven, there are fourteen less frequent ones syllable-based metres (''Varna-vritta'' or ''Akshara-chandas''): :- 8. ''Atijagati'' (13x4); 9. ''Śakkarī'' (14x4); 10. ''Atiśakarī '' (15x4); 11. ''Ashṭi'' (16x4); :- 12. ''Atyashti'' (17x4); 13. ''Dhritī '' (18x4); 14. ''Atidhritī'' (19x4); 15. ''Kṛiti'' (20x4); :- 16. ''Prakṛiti'' (21x4); 17. ''Ākṛiti'' (22x4): 18. ''Vikṛiti'' (23x4); 19. '' Śankṛiti'' (24x4); :- 20. ''Atikṛiti'' (25x4); 21. ''Utkṛiti'' (26x4). (Note: all metres have several varieties (from 2 to 30 depending on the case). :There is also the metre called ''Dandaka'' which is the general name given to other metres of this class exceeding the measure (26x4) of ''Utkriti'' (''Dandaka'' is the No. 22 on the list compiled by H.H. Wilson). Furthemore, there are several other minor metres found in the Vedas, of which the following are two examples: *: 4 lines of 10 syllables). * : 3 lines of 8, 12, 8 syllables).


Gāyatrī metre

The shortest and most sacred of Vedic metres is the Gāyatrī metre. A verse consists of three octosyllabic sections (''pāda''). The following is an example of the opening of a Rigvedic hymn in Gāyatrī metre: The Gāyatrī metre is considered as the most refined and sacred of the Vedic metres, and one that continues to be part of modern Hindu culture as part of
Yoga Yoga (; sa, योग, lit=yoke' or 'union ) is a group of physical, mental, and spiritual practices or disciplines which originated in ancient India and aim to control (yoke) and still the mind, recognizing a detached witness-consciou ...
and hymns of meditation at sunrise. The general scheme of the Gāyatrī is a stanza of three 8-syllable lines. The length of the syllables is variable, but the rhythm tends to be iambic (ᴗ – ᴗ –), especially in the cadence (last four syllables) of each line. However, there is one rare variety, used for example in Rigveda 8.2.1–39, in which the cadence is trochaic (– ᴗ – x). Another cadence sometimes found (especially in the first line of a stanza) is (ᴗ ᴗ ᴗ x). The last syllable of a line may be long or short indifferently. The Gāyatrī metre makes up about 25% of the entire Rigveda.A history of Sanskrit Literature
Arthur MacDonell, Oxford University Press/Appleton & Co, page 56
The only metre more commonly used in Rigveda than Gāyatrī is the
Tristubh ''Trishtubh'' ( sa, त्रिष्टुभ्, , IAST: ) is a Vedic metre of 44 syllables (four padas of eleven syllables each), or any hymn composed in this metre. It is the most prevalent metre of the Rigveda, accounting for roughly 40% o ...
metre. The structure of Gāyatrī and other Vedic metres is more flexible than post-Vedic metres. One of the best known verses of Gāyatrī is the
Gayatri Mantra The Gāyatrī Mantra, also known as the Sāvitri Mantra, is a highly revered mantra from the '' Rig Veda'' ( Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr. is the name of the Goddess of the Vedic meter in which the verse is composed. ...
, which is taken from book 3.62.10 (the last hymn of the 3rd book) of the Rigveda. When the Rig-Veda is chanted, performers traditionally recite the first two ''padas'' of Gāyatrī without making a break between them, in accordance with the generally used ''saṃhitā'' text. However, according to Macdonell, "there is no reason to believe that in the original text the second verse was more sharply divided from the third than from the first." When the
Gayatri Mantra The Gāyatrī Mantra, also known as the Sāvitri Mantra, is a highly revered mantra from the '' Rig Veda'' ( Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr. is the name of the Goddess of the Vedic meter in which the verse is composed. ...
is recited, on the other hand, a pause is customarily made after each ''pada''. When there is a pause, a short syllable at the end of a line can be considered long, by the principle of ''
brevis in longo In Greek and Latin metre, ''brevis in longo'' (; ) is a short syllable at the end of a line that is counted as long. The term is short for , meaning "a short yllablein place of a long lement" Although the phenomenon itself has been known since ...
''. Although the Gāyatrī is very common in the Rigveda, it fell out of use early and is not found in Sanskrit poetry of the classical period. There is a similar 3 x 8 stanzaic metre in the Avestan scriptures of ancient Iran.Macdonell, A. A. ''A Vedic Grammar for Students'', p. 438.


See also

*
Vedic accent The pitch accent of Vedic Sanskrit, or Vedic accent for brevity, is traditionally divided by Sanskrit grammarians into three qualities, ''udātta'' उदात्त "raised" (acute accent, high pitch), ''anudātta'' अनुदात्त "not ...
*
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 ...
*
Gayatri mantra The Gāyatrī Mantra, also known as the Sāvitri Mantra, is a highly revered mantra from the '' Rig Veda'' ( Mandala 3.62.10), dedicated to the Vedic deity Savitr. is the name of the Goddess of the Vedic meter in which the verse is composed. ...


References

;Bibliography * (Als
here
*Gunkel, Dieter and Kevin M. Ryan. (2018
"Phonological Evidence for Pāda Cohesion in Rigvedic Versification"
In ''Language and Meter'', ed. Dieter Gunkel and Olav Hackstein, 34–52. Leiden: Brill. *Macdonell, A. A. (1916
''A Vedic Grammar for Students''
Appendix II. Vedic Metre (pp. 436–447). *Müller, F. Max, ''Vedic Hymns, Part I'' (''
Sacred Books of the East The ''Sacred Books of the East'' is a monumental 50-volume set of English translations of Asian religious texts, edited by Max Müller and published by the Oxford University Press between 1879 and 1910. It incorporates the essential sacred texts ...
'', Vol. 32) * Mylius, Klaus (1983) ''Geschichte der altindischen Literatur'', Wiesbaden. *Oldenberg, H. ''Prolegomena on Metre and Textual History of the '', Berlin 1888. Tr. V. G. Paranjpe and M. A. Mehendale, Motilal Banarsidass 2005 * . *van Nooten, B. und G. Holland, ''Rig Veda, a metrically restored text'', Department of Sanskrit and Indian Studies, Harvard University, Harvard University Press, Cambridge, Massachusetts and London, England, 1994. * *


External links


The Hymns Of The Rigveda V1, Volume 1
List of metres.

a listing of the names of various Vedic metres, with notes.
A.A. Macdonell on Vedic metre
(Contains only metrical appendix).
Rigveda chanted
The hymn to Indra is at 12:28.
Transliterated text of Rigveda book 1

Gayatri Mantra sung
Vedangas Sanskrit Prosodies by language Indian poetics {{poetry-stub