- Syllables per pāda
- 12
- Kind
- Samavṛtta — all four pādas alike
- Gaṇas
- sa sa sa sa
Four pādas of 12 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
सुघनं सुततं सुघनं सुततं
सहसा सुषिरैः सह साशुषिरैः ।
अथ वाद्यम् अभूद् अथ वाद्यम् अभूद्
रभसोद्यमभू रभसोद्यमभूः
sughanaṁ sutataṁ sughanaṁ sutataṁ
sahasā suṣiraiḥ saha sāśuṣiraiḥ |
atha vādyam abhūd atha vādyam abhūd
rabhasodyama-bhū rabhasodyama-bhūḥ
Caitanya-caritāmṛta-mahākāvya 4.73Open the verse