Notes from watching this on Shaale: Shatavadhani Dr. R. Ganesh’s course on Sanskrit versification. Obviously, the cryptic notes below are no substitute for actually watching the videos.

1. Introduction to Prosody

Poem ≠ padya

In the Sanskrit tradition, poetry (kāvya) can be either verse (padya) or prose (gadya) or a mixture thereof.

So verse (padya) is not required for “poetry” (kāvya); it is only desirable. (Bāṇa, Daṇḍin etc are poets just as Kālidāsa or others.)

Conversely, verse itself does not imply that something is kāvya. (The works of Varāhamira, Caraka, Manu etc. are not considered poems.)

So why prosody, then?

To make something compact, attractive, memorable, easy to recall.

(Gives examples of even pedestrian things becoming memorable when versified.)

Verse is powerful, gives enjoyment, also covers up some defects!

2. Importance of Metre

So, though metre is not essential to poetry, it is greatly desirable.

[Dr G: I say this—that metre is not essential—despite investing much of my life in study of metre, in 20–25 languages.]

Yes metre can constrain the poet, but it is also a boon.

People think that writing in metre hinders creativity. But creativity that is not in verse will not be remembered and enjoyed.

For example, a verse of Kālidāsa (like ramyāṇi vīkṣya…) or Jayadeva, Lilāśuka, Bhartṛhari, I can remember again and again and become more intimate with carvaṇa, but I can’t remember half a page of Bhyrappa verbatim.

Metre will hinder only when composing, and only the beginner. To experienced musicians, the śruti (base pitch) or tāla are not hindrances; they get internalized.

3. Advantages of Versification

Apart from the attraction and the guidance we get from prosody, we also get verification, and an impetus to revise and refine. (As words need to be adjusted to the metre.)

idam iha padaṃ mā bhūd evaṃ bhavatv idam anyathā
kṛtam idam ayaṃ granthenārtho mahān upapāditaḥ
iti manasi yaḥ kāvyārambhe kaver bhavati śramaḥ
sanayanajalo romodbhedaḥ satāṃ tam apohati [or sajalanayano ?]

— Śyāmilaka (Pāḍa-tāḍitaka 1.3)

This “padapāka” (Rājaśekhara), this trial and error, is more likely in metrical verse than free verse.

In metre, which is “unnatural”, this happens more.

[Aside: natural ≠ attractive. (Neither way does the implication hold.) In fact, art is “attractive unnaturality”, showing what ought to be rather than what is.]

Opens up innovative avenues in the poet’s mind, and may suggest or even force a new twist, a new idea, a new suggestive or loaded word.

May choose a small metre for a small idea, feel constrained, change to a longer metre and thereby expand the idea as well.

A rewarding experience, and not a problem for a gifted poet.

Those who wish to become poets must undergo this training. (Many today think they need no training to become poets, because they use language every day. But we use our voice everyday and can’t be singers without training. Similarly dancers.)

Writing poetry needs all 3: pratibhā (imagination), vyutpatti (erudition? mastery is better IMO), abhyāsa (practice).

4. Purpose of this course

Here I will not describe the rules of metre.

(Many people, tending towards analysis and logic, seek only information and resist the idea of practice, and want to “try” immediately…)

There are many treatises on prosody: Piṅgala, Kedārabhaṭṭa, Jayakīrti, Jayadeva, Gaṅgādāsa, Hemacandra, …, many in regional languages. Yet the essence of versification may remain a mystery.

I will instead draw on my experience and what I’ve observed in master poets.

(Audience poll: most say they know the basics of metre: laghu, guru etc., and also that they have hold over Sanskrit.)

You need to be comfortable saying things in Sanskrit first; it’s basic equipment. Like needing a voice to be a singer.

5. Structural Aspects

We’ve already seen the etymology of chandas.

Also, it is said “na acchandasā vāguccarati” — there is no utterance that is without metre.

In any utterance, there are always either short or long vowels; always conjunct or non-conjunct consonants.

Chandas as a śāstra is about when there is some regularity. Padya, chando-baddha => nibaddha.

So usually we mean chandas in the narrower sense, not the broadest sense.

Also we use “rhythm”, which doesn’t mean tāla. Tāla is periodic, even monotonous, but rhythm is about something attractive. (He’s trying to aim for what SKB calls “gati” here.)

Something irregular may be attractive, but there is always some element of disturbance / confusion: not knowing what comes next.

At the other extreme, something regular may become monotonous, predictable.

So we seek something in between: regular, and attractive.

Similar in all Indian languages.

6. Basic Rules: laghu and guru

Laghu (modernly denoted u, traditionally like |)

guru (moderly —, traditionally like s)

All long vowels are guru.

One guru takes as long as two laghus. (Roughly one snap of the fingers.)

The syllable preceding a saṃyuktākṣara is also a guru.

Also when preceding an anusvāra or visarga. (Yogavāha.)

7. Gaṇa-vibhāga Classification into Gaṇas

Grouped into gaṇas for being easy to remember.

(Philosophy: 1=>A single, 2=>pair, and 3=>group. Dual number in Sanskrit, Latin, actually doesn’t seem to be present in Latin really, and only in Ancient Greek.)

[Mainly just mentions y-m-t-r-j-bh-n-s, nothing else.]

8. Examples (Gaṇas are not units for composition!)

These groups of 3 are just a mnemonic device; does NOT mean one should write one’s poem in groups of 3 syllables!

E.g. one may write, in Mālinī:

sapadi hasati kalyāṇī dharitryāṃ sakhībhiḥ

But this is flawed; it completely ignores the yati after 8 syllables.

It is absurd to write a poem made of only 3-letter words (that too, with a given LGL or GGG or GLL or whatever pattern). If one is misled by the (trika) gaṇas one may conclude that metre is hard and impossible :-)

Here is an example (asks audience for a topic, gets “election”):

jana-gaṇa-paramārtho jñāyate naiva loke

sapadi raṭanaśīlā yānti yāsyanti pīṭhe

janapadakalaheṣu kṣīyate deśa-dākṣyaṃ

tadapi manuja-medhā-maulya vidyotanāya

Here the word boundaries fall at different places; not as much monotony. Only the yati-sthāna needs to be followed.

9. Yati

Yati means control. Control of the rhythm. Also śvāsa-sthāna, place to take a breath.

When two different gati (rhythmic patterns) come to join at a point, there is a “turn” or “shift”, and that’s a yati-sthāna. (Generally these sections end with a G.)

E.g. in Mālinī, the laghu-gati: LLLLGG and the guru-pracura section GLGGLGG join.

Even if you utter with just na-na-na or la-la-la or whatever, you will inadvertently stop at that point.

A major stop, like a semicolon. There may be other minor stops like commas.

Similarly in Mandākrāntā (3 yatis).

10. Vasantatilaka

Writes down the LG* pattern, and divides into gaṇas, just for “tuṣyatu-durjana-nyāya” :-) May the rules-loving people be satisfied.

Metres in which there is miśra-akṣara-gati throughout (neither laghu-pracura nor guru-pracura) tend not to have yati.

Those are also easier to compose in, as they are more natural to the language (Anuṣṭup, Vasantatilaka).

11. Upajāti

[Gets the audience to write a poem!]

Stotra is simple to start with, especially using dvitīyā-vacana throughout and just one kriyāpada (like namāmi) somewhere.

12. Anuṣṭup

It is an extension of Gāyātrī (8x3) to 8x4.

The name “Anuṣṭubh” is a genre in itself; usually when we say “Anuṣṭup” we mean “Anuṣṭubh śloka”.

Not fully fixed, has a lot of flexibility.

His definition:

odd lines: 1234LGG8

even lines: 1234LGL8

further:

lines can’t have 23 = LL (“can’t start with na or bha gaṇas”)

In even lines, if starting with ta or ra (i.e. GGL or GLG), then the 4th should be L, resulting in GGLLLGLG or GLGLLGLG. Not GGLGLGLG or GLGGLGLG. (What about LGLGLGLG? Why hasn’t he disallowed it?)

13. Ghosha of Anuṣṭup

Says “mauktikaṃ no gaje gaje” and “candanaṃ no vane vane” sound bad (much worse than if “no” was “na”). I don’t feel the same way!

14. Some nuances of composition

<….>

Just see the “takeaways” at the end.

Also, in completely fixed vṛttas, OTOH it’s difficult because everything is constrained, but OTOH it’s easy because you don’t have to worry about appropriateness of your gati; the well-established metre will take care of it.

15. Composing in Anuṣṭup

[composes a ganesha stotra]

Kṣemendra in Kavi-kaṇṭhābharaṇa, suggests taking a verse you know well, and trying to replace words.

[Nice example with vāgarthāviva…, also sarasvati-namastubhyam]

16. Rathoddhatā

A simple metre.

[another verse being composed]

17. Transforming a prose passage into a verse

[Bāṇa’s first line]

18. Drutavilaṃbitam

An example of translating ideas/sentences into this metre. (verse on India)

19. Śālinī

Same thing, poem about India, in this metre.

[Can use “śrī” to make the preceding thing guru!]

20. Śārdūlavikrīḍitam

[More…]

21. Basics of mātrā-chandas

[Another day!]

aka mātrā-jāti. Based on count of mātras instead of sequence of laghus and gurus in a fixed order.

Groups of 3, 4, 5.

(Everything else, like 6=3+3, 7=3+4, 8=4+4, and beyond that it’s too hard to be aware of it.)

6 that is not 3+3 (is 2+4 or 4+2). Santulita (doesn’t SKB use sankalita?)

8 that is not 4+4 (is 3+5 or 5+3) (Rathoddhatā)

yay, I have read this SKB :-)

22. Possibilities in mātrā-chandas

The 3-matra gaṇa can be: 111, 12, or 21. (3-1 = 2)

The 4-mātra gaṇa can be: 1111, 112, ~~121~~, 211, 22. (5-1=4)

The 5-mātra gaṇa can be: 11111, 1112, 1121, ~~1211, 122~~, 2111, 212, 221 (8-2=6)

Starting with “LG” is not recommended.

23. Example for tri-mātrā composition

Ūna-gaṇa for pause:

Generally, the second line will be shorter than the first line.
Or if the second line is longer, at the end it will have an ūna-gaṇa.

24. Example for catur-mātrā composition

E.g. punarapi jananaṃ…

The cataraśra is the most comforting gati.

(Even in music, most compositions are in āditāla aka tīntāl.)

25. Example for pañca-mātrā composition

Always feeling of ending needs an ūna-gaṇa.

And preferably the number of gaṇas is a multiple of 4.

After all, prosody is a mechanism of making language pleasing to the ear / comforting to the ear.

26. Miśra-gati (3+4)

The ear naturally registers end of line after every group of 4, even if you write out a long line visually.

27. More examples tri-mātrā gati

[Composes an example on “sky”.] (Turns out to be half of bhoga-ṣaṭpadī.)

[Personally he doesn’t like the tri-mātrā gaṇa, is very fast. No “nemmadi”.]

[Situations in which it is appropriate…]

28. More examples catur-mātrā gati

[Some words on prāsa]

[Jagannatha Paṇḍita…]

Look at where the groups end.

Prasa is best at positions where āvartas repeat.

29. More examples pañca-mātrā gati

[Example, khaṇḍa-gati]

30. More examples Miśra-gati

[And a bit on prāsa.]

3, 4, 5, 7 aka triśra, cataraśra, khaṇḍa, miśra.

31. More examples Santulita-druta-gati

Can introduce a few 3+3s without making it jarring. Might even be good, to break monotony.

32. More examples Santulita-madhya-gati

Vedanta-deśika and others have used. Bendre too.

[Example]

33. Āryā-gītī

A difficult metre called Āryā. Several varieties in its genre. Let’s start with Gītī.

In the Āryā-śataka of Mūkakavi, in the Gāthā-saptaśati, etc. this is found.

Made of groups of 4.

.... .... ....
 22   4    22

.... .... .... .... ..
 4    22  121   22   2

4 4 4

4 4 4 4 2

4 4 4

4 4 4 4 2

The third gaṇa of even pādas (i.e. 6th gaṇa in each half-verse), should not be breakable as 2+2, in the form of GLL or LLG or GG. But (Regex: 121) — LGL is ok, also LLLL. If LLLL, then

a word should end after the first L
the next should not be LLLL

Also, all the odd-numbered gaṇas in each half-verse (that is, 1, 3, 5, 7) should not be 121 (ja-gaṇa), so it has to be 22.

Read the Āryā-śataka.

[It feels like some constraints are for beauty / clarity of gati, and some are for avoiding falling into similarity with another metre… need to learn better.]

Lot of variation, although it’s cataraśra, many times 6s come up.

Used in Sanskrit plays.

34. Āryā

The same, except that in the last line, instead of 18, we have 15.

I think the second half is like this?

.... .... ....
 22   4    22

.... .... ... ....
 4    22  1,2  22

35. Karṇāṭa-viṣaya-jāti Bandhas

trimūrtbandhas.

Brahma: LLG, GG = 2G (I think this just means 2 + G.)

Viṣṇu: LLGG, GGG, GLG, LLGL = {LL,G}{GG,LG,GL} but not LLLG, GGL. (The ra-gaṇa GLG is not great.) (And it seems like GGL is also ok?) In the second half, after the first 2, all Ls are Gs too. Basically I think this means 2 + GG (where one of the Gs is allowed to be L).

Rudra: GGGG, LLGGG, and combination of Brahmas. Rarely used (often just splits into 2 Brahmas).

Tripadis and sāṃgatyas in Kannada are composed in these. Akkara-s.

36. Sāṅgatya

v v v v

v v b

v v v v

v v b

Can be set to any tāla. Basically this is:

2GG 2GG 2GG 2GG

2GG 2GG 2G

2GG 2GG 2GG 2GG

2GG 2GG 2G

37. Conclusion

Compose a lot. Don’t publish, but write.

Sanskrit has always coexisted (friendly, nurturing) with deśa-bhāṣas.

Mārga and deśi not in conflict.

[Has a great list of works to read, for each metre.]