Rathōddhatā
Pattern
Description
The rathōddhatā meter (“high on the chariot”) is a short meter of the triṣṭubh class, with 11 syllables per line. Its pattern is:
ऽ । ऽ । । । ऽ । ऽ । ऽ
There is no word-break (yatiḥ) prescribed for this verse form.
Definitions
Piṅgala, Chandaḥsūtram 6.23:
rathōddhatā rnau rlau g
Nāṭyaśāstram 15.46:
ādyaṁ tr̥tīyam antyaṁ saptamaṁ navamaṁ tathā
gurūṇy ēkādaśē pādē yatra sā tu rathōddhatā
Ratnamañjūṣā 5.29:
rathōddhatā tilau
Jānāśrayī 4.42:
rathoḍdhatā śmai
Jayadeva, Chandaḥśāstram 6.23:
rnau ralau guruyutā rathōddhatā
Ratnākaraśānti, Chandōratnākaraḥ 2.23:
rāt parē naralagā rathōddhatā
Jayakīrti, Chandōnuśāsanam 2.99:
rānnarau lagayutau rathōddhatā
Kedārabhaṭṭa, Vr̥ttaratnākaraḥ 3.38:
rō narāv iha rathōddhatā lagau
Hemacandra, Chandōnuśāsanam 2.141:
rnarlgā rathōddhatā
Examples
Anargharāghavam 7.85
This example was recited by H. V. Nagaraja Rao and recorded by Gil Ben-Herut in 2006. The translation is mine.
Like the workhouse of Viśvakarma, engineer of the gods,
blazing with sparks upon sparks that fly out
from the disk of the sun, chiselled on the wheel
— is that a mirage that is coming into view?
Kirātārjunīyam 18.3
This example was recited by H. V. Nagaraja Rao and recorded by Gil Ben-Herut in 2006. The translation is mine.
Suddenly amazed by this deed, the supreme man,
who makes all past deeds come to nothing,
grabbed that weariless man by the chest,
and beat him, wanting to throw him to the ground.
Mukundamālā 15
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 mine.
Reverence to Mādhava, the enemy of Madhu,
reclining the coils of the serpent as his bed,
his pleasing form spangled with droplets
sprayed from the waves of the milk ocean.