Anuṣṭup (Ślōkaḥ)

Description

For further discussion of this verse form, see Roland Steiner, “Die Lehre der Anuṣṭubh bei den indischen Metrikern,” in Suhr̥llekhāḥ: Festfabe für Helmut Eimer, ed. by Michael Hahn, Jens-Uwe Hartmann and Roland Steiner, pp. 227–48 (Swisttal-Odendorf: Indica et Tibetica Verlag, 1996).

The so-called anuṣṭubh ślōka is a verse (ślōkaḥ) that belongs to the anuṣṭup class of syllable-counting meters (vr̥ttāni), which contains four lines of eight syllables each, or 4 × 8 = 32 syllables in total.

The ślōka is the most common meter in all of Sanskrit literature. It is also, partly, in a class by itself. Whereas most of the other meters that are used in Sanskrit regulate the weight of every single syllable in the verse line, the ślōka regulates the weight of its syllables in a slightly different way, explained below. It is one of the few forms of Vedic meter to survive in common use in the classical period (the other being the upajāti, which is continuous with the Vedic triṣṭubh).

The ślōka basically has two types of patterns: one that operates in odd lines (i.e., pādas 1 and 3), and the other that operates in even lines (i.e., pādas 2 and 4). They will be explained in turn. The most general form, however, can be schematized as follows:

× × × × × × × × × × × × । ऽ । × × × × × × × × × × × × × । ऽ । ×

Odd lines (Viṣamapādau)

According to the analysis given by Piṅgala and others, the “normal” form (pathyā) of the odd lines of the ślōka has the following form (where × represents any syllable, heavy or light, while । represents a light syllable, and ऽ represents a heavy syllable):

× × × × । ऽ ऽ ×

This is the most common form, but there are a number of “extensions” (vipulā) that are referred to by the trikas representing syllables 5, 6, and 7:

Name Pattern
bhavipulā × × × × ऽ । । ×
ravipulā × × × × ऽ । ऽ ×
navipulā × × × × । । । ×
tavipulā × × × × ऽ ऽ । ×

Even lines (Samapādau)

In the even lines, the ślōka conforms to the following pattern (where, once again, × represents any syllable, heavy or light, while । represents a light syllable, and ऽ represents a heavy syllable):

× × × × । ऽ । ×

Note that the final syllable of an even line is always considered to be metrically heavy, so the ending of the even lines of the ślōka will always have the iambic rhythm ।ऽ।ऽ.

Examples

Bhartr̥harēr Vairāgyaśatakē 1

This example was recited by H.V. Nagaraja Rao and recorded by Nathan Levine in Toronto in 2018. The recordings were uploaded to archive.org by Anusha Rao. The translation is my own.

dikkālādyanavacchinnānantacinmātramūrtayē । svānubhūtyēkamānāya namaḥ śāntāya tējasē ॥

Reverence to the light of peace,
its form consisting only of unlimited consciousness,
unbroken by time and space,
measured only by our own experience of it.

Bāṇasya Harṣacaritē 1

This example was recited by H.V. Nagaraja Rao and recorded by Nathan Levine in Toronto in 2018. The recordings were uploaded to archive.org by Anusha Rao. The translation is my own.

namas tuṅgaśiraścumbicandracāmaracāravē । trailōkyanagarārambhamūlastambhāya śambhavē ॥

Reverence to the pillar that marks the center
of the city that is the triple world,
the yak-tail that is the moon gracefully
glancing its peak, his head —
reverence, that is, to Śambhu.

Kālidāsasya Raghuvaṁśē 1–2

This example was recited by H. V. Nagaraja Rao and recorded by Gil Ben-Herut in 2006. The translation is my own.

vāgarthāv iva saṁpr̥ktau vāgarthapratipattayē । jagataḥ pitarau vandē pārvatīparamēśvarau ॥
kva sūryaprabhavō vaṁśaḥ kva cālpaviṣayā matiḥ । titīrṣur dustaraṁ mōhād uḍupēnāsmi sāgaram ॥

I praise the parents of the world,
Pārvatī and Paramēśvara,
who are joined together like word and meaning,
in order to obtain words and meanings.

How far is my own intelligence
from the dynasty that springs from the sun?
How deluded I must be to try to cross
the uncrossable ocean on a raft!