Shloka or ?loka ( Sanskrit : ????? ?loka , from the root ???? ?ru , lit.   ' hear ' ^{[1] [2]} in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is "any verse or stanza; a proverb, saying"; ^[3] but in particular it refers to the 32-syllable verse, derived from the Vedic anu??ubh metre, used in the Bhagavad Gita and many other works of classical Sanskrit literature. ^[4]

In its usual form it consists of four p?das or quarter-verses, of 8 syllables each, ^[5] or (according to an alternative analysis) of two half-verses of 16 syllables each. ^[2] The metre is similar to the Vedic anu??ubh metre, but with stricter rules.

The ?loka is the basis for Indian epic poetry, and may be considered the Indian verse form par excellence , occurring as it does far more frequently than any other metre in classical Sanskrit poetry . ^[2] The ?loka is the verse-form generally used in the Mahabharata , the Ramayana , the Puranas , Smritis , and scientific treatises of Hinduism such as Sushruta Samhita and Charaka Samhita . ^{[6] [7] [8]} The Mahabharata , for example, features many verse metres in its chapters, but 95% of the stanzas are ?lokas of the anu??ubh type, and most of the rest are tristubh s. ^[9]

The anu??ubh is found in Vedic texts, but its presence is minor, and tri??ubh and g?yatr? metres dominate in the Rigveda . ^[10] A dominating presence of ?lokas in a text is a marker that the text is likely post-Vedic. ^[7]

The traditional view is that this form of verse was involuntarily composed by V?lm?ki , the author of the R?m?ya?a , in grief on seeing a hunter shoot down one of two birds in love. ^[3] On seeing the sorrow (?oka) of the widowed bird, he was reminded of the sorrow S?t? felt on being separated from Shri Rama and began composing the Ramayana in shlokas. For this he is called the ?dikavi (first poet.) ^[11]

Metrical pattern [ edit ]

Each 16-syllable hemistich (half-verse), of two 8-syllable p?das , can take either a pathy? ("normal") form or one of several vipul? ("extended") forms. The form of the second foot of the first p?da (II.) limits the possible patterns the first foot (I.) may assume.

The scheme below, given by Macdonell, shows his understanding of the form of the ?loka in the classical period of Sanskrit literature (4th?11th centuries CE):

In poems of the intermediate period, such as the Bhagavad Gita , a fourth vipul? is found. This occurs 28 times in the Bhagavad Gita, that is, as often as the third vipul? . ^[12] When this vipul? is used, there is a word-break (caesura) after the fourth syllable: ^[13]

|   u   u   u   ?,  |  ?  u  ?   u   ||

Two rules that always apply are: ^[13]

1. In both p?das , in syllables 2?3, u u is not allowed.

2. In the second p?da , in syllables 2?4, ? u ? is not allowed

The pathy? and vipul? half-verses are arranged in the table above in order of frequency of occurrence. Out of 2579 half-verses taken from Kalidasa , Bharavi , Magha , and Bilhana , each of the four admissible forms of ?loka in this order claims the following share: 2289, 116, 89, 85; ^[14] that is, 89% of the half-verses have the regular pathy? form.

The various vipul? s, in the order above, are known to scholars writing in English as the first, second, third and fourth vipul? , ^[15] or the paeanic , choriambic , molossic , and trochaic vipul? respectively. ^[16] In Sanskrit writers, they are referred to as the na- , bha- , ma- , and ra-vipul? . ^[13] A fifth vipul? , known as the minor Ionic, in which the first p?da ends | u u ? x |, is sometimes found in the Mah?bh?rata , although rarely. ^[17]

Macdonell's chart given above is in fact too restrictive with regard the first four syllables in a vipul? verse. For example, the first quarter verse of the R?maya?a (critical edition) contains a na-vipul? and scans ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ( tapa?sv?dhy?yanirata? ). Other examples are easy to find among classical poets, e.g., R?macarita 1.76 manyur deh?vadhir aya? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?. In the ma-vipul?, a caesura is not obligatory after the fifth syllable, e.g., ?i?up?lavadha 2.1a yiyak?am??en?h?ta? ? ? ? ? ? ? ? ?.

Noteworthy is the avoidance of an iambic cadence in the first p?da . By comparison, syllables 5?8 of any p?da in the old Vedic anu??ubh metre typically had the iambic ending u ? u x (where "x" represents an anceps syllable).

Statistical studies examining the frequency of the vipul? s and the patterns in the earlier part of the p?da have been carried out to try to establish the preferences of various authors for different metrical patterns. It is believed that this may help to establish relative dates for the poems, and to identify interpolated passages. ^{[18] [19]}

Examples [ edit ]

A typical ?loka is the following, which opens the Bhagavad Gita :

dharma-k?etre kuru-k?etre

samavet? yuyutsava?

m?mak?? p???av?? caiva

kim akurvata sanjaya

| ? ? ? ? | u ? ? ? |

| u u ? ? | u ? u ? ||

| ? u ? ? | u ? ? u |

| u u ? u | u ? u u ||

"( Dh?tara??ra said:) In the place of righteousness, at Kuruk?etra ,

gathered together and desiring battle,

my sons and the sons of Pandu,

what did they do, Sanjaya?"

From the period of high classical Sanskrit literature comes this benediction, which opens B??abha??a 's biographical poem Har?acaritam (7th century CE):

namas-tu?ga-?ira?-cumbi- candra-c?mara-c?rave /

trailokya-nagar?rambha- m?la-stambh?ya ?ambhave //

| u ? ? u | u ? ? u | ? u ? u | u ? u ? ||

| ? ? u u | u ? ? u | ? ? ? ? | u ? u ? ||

"Praise be to ?ambhu, beautified by the chowrie moon touching his lofty head;

like a foundation pillar of a city that is the universe." ^[20]

When a ?loka is recited, performers sometimes leave a pause after each p?da , at other times only after the second p?da . (See External links.)

Difference between shloka and mantra [ edit ]

A Shloka has to be composed in a specific metre (chhanda), with a specific number of lines with a specific number of words per line, each word could be a mantra. For example, vi??u sahastran?ma is in anu??up chhanda (two lines of four words each).

A mantra, on the other hand, is prefixed by omkara (primordial sound) and suffixed by the essential nama (name) and the salutary word nama (salutation) between the prefix and the suffix. No metre is prescribed. The lyrics in any V?rnic or matric metres are shlokas, but stanzas from Vedic hymns are not shloka, despite it being a common mistake to think this. ^[21]

See also [ edit ]

• Sanskrit prosody
• Subhashita
• Vedic metre
• Anustubh

References [ edit ]

Bibliography [ edit ]

• Arnold, Edward Vernon (1905). Vedic Metre in its historical development . Cambridge University Press (Reprint 2009). ISBN   978-1113224446 .
• Brockington, John (1998). The Sanskrit Epics . Brill.
• Brown, Charles Philip (1869). Sanskrit prosody and numerical symbols explained . London: Trubner & Co.
• Colebrooke, H.T. (1873). "On Sanskrit and Prakrit Poetry". Miscellaneous Essays . Vol. 2. London: Trubner and Co. pp. 57?146.
• Coulson, Michael (1976). Teach Yourself Sanskrit . Teach Yourself Books. Hodder and Stoughton.
• D'Avella, Victor B. (2019) "Notes on the Sanskrit ?loka " . (Introduction to Ala?k?ra??stra Sommersemester 2019.)
• Keith, A. Berriedale (1928). A History of Sanskrit Literature . (Oxford University Press).
• Hopkins, E.W. (1901). "Epic versification". The Great Epic of India . New York: C. Scribner's Sons.
• Muller, Friedrich Max ; Arthur Anthony Macdonell (1886). A Sanskrit grammar for beginners (2 ed.). Longmans, Green. p.  178 . PDF
• Murthy, G. S. S. (2003). "Characterizing Classical Anu??up: A Study in Sanskrit Prosody" . Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute , Vol. 84 (2003), pp. 101?115. (On JSTOR)
• Sharma, Arvind (2000). "Of ??dras , S?tas , and ?lokas : Why is the Mah?bh?rata preeminently in the Anu??ubh Metre?" . Indo-Iranian Journal , Vol. 43, No. 3 (2000), pp. 225?278.
• Wilson, Horace Hayman (1841). An introduction to the grammar of the Sanskrit language . Madden.

External links [ edit ]

• Michael Hahn : "A brief introduction into the Indian metrical system for the use of students" (pdf)
• Introduction to Sanskrit prosody LearnSanskrit.Org
• Chanting of opening of Bhagavad Gita (starts at 0:46).
• 3 ?lokas read by Dr R. Ganesh (including the one from Har?acaritam )