- Syllables per pāda
- 19
- Kind
- Samavṛtta — all four pādas alike
- Gaṇas
- ma sa ja sa ta ta ga
- Yati after syllable
- 12
Four pādas of 19 syllables; all four are built alike.
Pattern
1–––⏑⏑–⏑–⏑⏑⏑–––⏑––⏑–
2–––⏑⏑–⏑–⏑⏑⏑–––⏑––⏑–
3–––⏑⏑–⏑–⏑⏑⏑–––⏑––⏑–
4–––⏑⏑–⏑–⏑⏑⏑–––⏑––⏑–
How to read the marks
- ⏑Laghu — a light syllableOne beat. Said short and lightly.
- –Guru — a heavy syllableTwo beats: held exactly twice as long as a light one. In the line it also carries a faint tint.
- Pāda boundaryA stanza falls into four quarters — pādas. The boundary is a short stop, as at the end of a line.
- Yati — caesuraWhere the breath falls inside a long pāda. A shorter, fainter rule.
Example
जन्माद्यस्य यतो ऽन्वयादितरतश्चार्थेष्वभिज्ञः स्वराट्
तेने ब्रह्म हृदा य आदिकवये मुह्यन्ति यत् सूरयः
तेजोवारिमृदां यथा विनिमयो यत्र त्रिसर्गो ऽमृषा
धाम्ना स्वेन सदा निरस्तकुहकं सत्यं परं धीमहि
janmādyasya yato 'nvayāditarataścārtheṣvabhijñaḥ svarāṭ
tene brahma hṛdā ya ādikavaye muhyanti yat sūrayaḥ
tejovārimṛdāṃ yathā vinimayo yatra trisargo 'mṛṣā
dhāmnā svena sadā nirastakuhakaṃ satyaṃ paraṃ dhīmahi
Śrīmad-Bhāgavatam 1.1.1Open the verse