chandōrṇavaḥ

Śārdūlavikrīḍitam

Pattern

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ऽऽऽ।।ऽ।ऽ।।।ऽऽऽ।ऽऽ।ऽ ऽऽऽ।।ऽ।ऽ।।।ऽऽऽ।ऽऽ।ऽ ऽऽऽ।।ऽ।ऽ।।।ऽऽऽ।ऽऽ।ऽ ऽऽऽ।।ऽ।ऽ।।।ऽऽऽ।ऽऽ।ऽ

Description

The śārdūlavikrīḍitam, “play of the tiger,” is the most popular meter in the atidhr̥tiḥ class (of 76 syllables or 19 syllables per line), and one of the most popular Sanskrit meters of all.

The syllabic pattern is:

ऽ ऽ ऽ । । ऽ । ऽ । । । ऽ, ऽ ऽ । ऽ ऽ । ऽ

There is an obligatory word-break (yatiḥ) after the 12th syllable.

This meter is almost identical to the similarly-named mattēbhavikrīḍitam (which has two light syllables rather than a single heavy syllable at the beginning).

Definitions

Piṅgala, Chandaḥsūtram 7.21:

śārdūlavikrīḍitaṁ mlau sjau tau gādityar̥ṣayaḥ

Nāṭyaśāstram 15.119–120:

antyaṁ saptadasśaṁ caiva ṣoḍaśaṁ sacaturdaśaṁ
trayōdaśaṁ dvādaśaṁ ca ṣaṣṭham aṣṭhamēva ca

Ratnamañjūṣā 7.5:

śārdūlavikrīḍitaṁ manauvē tau dai

Jānāśrayī 4.93:

śārdūlavikrīḍitaṁ gukusr̥j nau

Jayadeva, Chandaḥśāstram 7.21:

mlau jsau tau gurukaṁ ca sūryaturagaiḥ śārdūlavikrīḍitam

Ratnākaraśānti, Chandōratnākaraḥ 2.71:

akārśvair yadi sajau sutatavāḥ śārdūlavikrīḍitam

Jayakīrti, Chandōnuśāsanam 2.228:

bhānūdyadyati mātsajau satatagauḥ śārdūlavikrīḍitam

Kedārabhaṭṭa, Vr̥ttaratnākaraḥ 3.96:

sūryāśvair masajāḥ statāḥ saguravaḥ śārdūlavikrīḍitam

Hemacandra, Chandōnuśāsanam 2.321:

msau jsau gaḥ śārdūlavikrīḍitaṁ ṭaiḥ

Examples

Uttararāmacaritam 1.39

This example was recited by H. V. Nagaraja Rao and recorded by Gil Ben-Herut around 2005 or 2006. The translation is mine.

advaitaṁ sukhaduḥkhayōr anugataṁ sarvāsv avasthāsu yad viśrāmō hr̥dayasya yatra jarasā yasminn ahāryō rasaḥ kālēnāvaraṇātyayāt pariṇatē yat snēhasārē sthitaṁ bhadraṁ tasya sumānuṣasya katham apy ēkaṁ hi tat prāpyatē

Without duality in pain and pleasure, present in all circumstances,
where the heart takes comfort, whose savor age cannot take away,
which remains when time pulls away the veil, and the essence
of affection is transformed — thank god for that, the best thing
about human existence, that one thing which I have, at long last, found.

Gītagōvindam 3.9

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 from Barbara Stoler Miller’s Love Song of the Dark Lord.

unmīlanmadhugandhalubdhamadhupavyādhūtacūtāṅkura- krīḍatkōkilakākalīkalakalair udgīrṇakarṇajvarāḥ nīyantē pathikaiḥ kathaṁ katham api dhyānāvadhānakṣaṇa- prāptaprāṇasamāsamāgamarasōllāsair amī vāsarāḥ

Crying sounds of cuckoos, mating on mango shoots
Shaken as bees seek hoeny scents of opening buds,
Raise fever in the ears of lonely travelers —
Somehow they survive these days
By tasting the mood of lovers’ union
In climaxing moments of meditation.