Notes on the Sanskrit "Śloka"

Notes on the Sanskrit “Śloka” Victor B. D’Avella Introduction to Alaṅkāraśāstra Sommersemester 2019 Given below aRe a few RemaRKs about the most common of all Sanskrit meters, variously termed anuṣṭubh, śloka, and vaktra. Many studies exist about its origin, development, and definition based both on practice as well as the theoretical treatises in Sanskrit (chandaḥ-śāstra), one of the most recent and important among these being SteineR (1996). Here, however, we will only be concerned with the meter in its classical form and as described in works on metrics. Introduction The study of meteR or chandas, “determination of the number of syllables,”1 is, like grammar, one of the six vedāṅgas that crosses into the realm of worldly (laukika) linguistic analysis. The treatment of the Vedic meters also parallels that of the Vedic language insofar as it is less exhaustive than what we find for the standard language and tends to be omitted from later treatises, which are primarily intended for the use of poets and students of poetry. Many of the common meters known from kāvya have a fairly straightforward definition that gives a fixed number of syllables for a pāda, “foot, quarter.”2 In most instances each syllable has a determined weight (heavy or light), and there is a fixed caesura. Such meters with a fixed number of syllables are known as vṛttachandas. The verse-quarters can be identical to one another (sama-vṛtta), different from one another (viṣama-vṛtta), or have two patterns, one for the odd and one for the even pādas (ardhasama-vṛtta). Other meters with a varying number of syllables are termed jāti-chandas, to which belong, inter alia, the āryā-meters.3 The śloka belongs to the class of octosyllablic viṣama-vṛtta meters, but differs from others of the same type by having a much freer form with several sub-types. For this reason, its study is more complex and worthy of special attention. 1 Halāyudha ad PS 2.1: chandaḥśabdenākṣarasaṃkhyāvacchedo ’trābhidhīyate. 2 One also finds caraṇa. 3 According to Halāyudha ad PS 4.11, Piṅgala has a threefold division, whereby the āryā-meters belong to gaṇa-chandas since such meters are based on a set of gaṇas each containing four morae; meters like vaitālī are classified as mātrā-chandas, “moraic meters.” Sanskrit Works TheRe aRe many tReatises on metrics in Sanskrit4 beginning with Piṅgala’s Chandaḥ-sūtra or -śāstra (PS), which treats both the Vedic as well as the worldly (laukika) meters. In more recent times, Kedāra’s Vṛttaratnākara, “Ocean of Meters” (VR), has enjoyed much popularity—it is frequently quoted by Mallinātha— and is well suited for beginners as it leaves out a section on the Vedic metrics but otherwise reformulates the PS in clearer language. Piṅgala’s work, though of great importance and interest, is often obscure and only intelligible through the masterly commentary by Halāyudha, the Mṛtasaṃjīvanī, “Reviver of the Dead.” WebeR (1863) offers a German translation of Piṅgala’s text with extensive notes and an introduction. In what follows, I will draw primarily on these three works. 4 Unfortunately there is not a single reference work that provides a full list. The bibliographies to PollocK (1977) and SteineR (1996) list many but not all. n otes on th e sa n sK R it “ śl oK a ” 2 Technical Terms Just as in otheR bRanches of śāstric literature, a number of technical terms are defined and used in chandaḥśāstra for the sake of precision and brevity. Most fundamental to this system is syllabic weight, according to which an akṣara (≈ “syllable”)5 is defined as either laghu, “light” (⏑, ।), or guru, “heavy” (–, ऽ). A heavy syllable is one that contains a long vowel or a short vowel followed by a conjunct consonant,6 an anusvāra, a visarga (i.e., visarjanīya, jihvāmūlīya, upadhmānīya), or is at the end of a pāda (in most instances).7 Any other syllable is light.8 A light syllable is measured as one mātrā, “mora,” and a heavy as two. Metrical patterns are described with a sort of shorthand by assigning a letter to each of the possible combinations of three light and heavy syllables, called gaṇas (sometimes translated as “[metrical] foot”). l(a) and g(a) are used for laghu and guru, respectively. The following list of definitions9 should be committed to memory: 1. ma = – – – (dhīḥ10 śrī strī m) 6. ja = ⏑ – ⏑ (kadā sa j) 2. ya = ⏑ – – (varā sā y) 7. bha = – ⏑ ⏑ (kiṃ vada bh) 3. ra = – ⏑ – (kā guhā r) 8. na = ⏑ ⏑ ⏑ (na hasa n) 4. sa = ⏑ ⏑ – (vasudhā s) 9. la = ⏑ (gṛ l) 5. ta = – – ⏑ (sā te kva t) 10. ga = – (g ante, dhrādiparaḥ, he) In practice the short a after each consonant can be omitted: jbhau “the gaṇas ja (⏑ – ⏑) and bha (– ⏑ ⏑).” As an aide-mémoire, the following nonsense string of sounds is often memorized: yamātārājabhānasalagāḥ. The definition of each gaṇa can be found out by scanning the three syllables starting with the desired letter. For example, mā-tā-rā consists of three heavy syllables, so the definition of ma is – – –. Similarly, ja-bhā-na is scanned ⏑ – ⏑, so this is the definition of ja. The Term “Śloka” The term śloka has become closely associated with the 32-syllable carrying meter of the Epics, as well as countless other works, thanks in part to two famous passages in the Rāmāyaṇa in which Vālmīki’s grief upon seeing a tribesman (niṣāda) kill a male krauñca bird results in the creation of metered speech: pādabaddho ’kṣarasamas tantrīlayasamanvitaḥ | śokārtasya pravṛtto me śloko bhavatu nānyathā || R. 1.2.17 samākṣaraiś caturbhir yaḥ pādair gīto maharṣiṇā | so ’nuvyāharaṇād bhūyaḥ śokaḥ ślokatvam āgataḥ || R. 1.2.39 5 Halāyudha ad PS 1.9 understands the akṣara to receive the technical term laghu. Cf. Kāśikāvṛtti ad P. 1.4.10. 6 See VR 1.10f. with Bhaṭṭanārāyaṇa’s commentary for exceptions. 7 See Kāvyālaṅkārasūtra 5.1.3. Based on the example in the vṛtti, a light syllable at the end of an odd pāda in some meters, e.g., vaṃśastha, cannot count as heavy. 8 Cf. PS 1.9–11 and VR 1.9. Defined for the domain of grammar in P. 1.4.10–12. 9 Cf. PS 1.1–15, VR 1.7–9. Piṅgala, PS 1.1– 12, defines each gaṇa through examples that contain the appropriate metrical pattern, given in parentheses below. According to Halāyudha, these form a dialog. 10 On the visarga, see WebeR (1863: 217f.). n otes on th e sa n sK R it “ śl oK a ” 3 Of note is that this form of speech is connected with quarters (pāda-baddhaḥ, caturbhiḥ pādaiḥ), has an equal number of syllables (akṣarasamaḥ, samākṣaraḥ), and is sung (gītaḥ) or accompanied by instruments (tantrī-laya-samanvitaḥ). It need not be the case, however, that a specific meter is intended here since the word śloka had long been in use to refer to verse in general,11 and indeed still is so used today. Unambiguous usages of śloka to refer to a specific meter can be found in later works on metrics such as in Kṣemendra’s Suvṛttatilaka 1.14 and Śrutabodha 11, a short treatise spuriously attributed to Kālidāsa. See also Varāhamihira’s Bṛhatsaṃhitā 104.56f., where śloka and vaktra seem to be distinguished.12 In other metrical texts, however, we find the term anuṣṭubh as a general designation for any meter of eight syllables per pāda and vaktra, “mouth,” as a name for the specific meter often called śloka. For instance, in his description of Vedic meters, Piṅgala assigns the name anuṣṭubh to a broad category of meter consisting of four pādas of eight syllables each,13 but then uses vaktra in PS 5.914 as a heading that encompasses several specific varieties. Similarly, Kedāra at the beginning of the vaktra-prakaraṇa mentions that vaktra is known to be in anuṣṭubh, i.e., with eight syllables per pāda, in VR 2.21.15 Commentators on mahākāvya often make no remark about the meter of a sarga composed in śloka, it being perhaps too obvious. One example can be found in Vallabhadeva’s commentary ad Kumārasambhava 2.1. Here he says: sarge ’sminn anuṣṭubho vṛttam |16 11 See WebeR (1865: 332–335) and AK 3.3.2c padye yaśasi ca ślokaḥ. 12 Cf. WebeR (1865: 337f.). 13 PS 3.23. The following two sūtras define two other varieties of anuṣṭubh. 14 PS 5.9 pādasyānuṣṭub vaktram. 15 VR 2.21cd vaktraṃ nādyān nasau syātām abder yo ’nuṣṭubhi khyātam. 16 Ed. Narayana Murti, p. 35. 17 Ed. Patel, p. 43. Or according to another reading: sarge ’smin pathyāvaktrādikaṃ vṛttam |17 One may, accordingly, use a number of terms based on the level of precision desired: śloka and anuṣṭubh are the most general and perhaps least technical, while vaktra, pathyā-vaktra or vipulā (see below p. 4.) add a further level of precision and demonstrate a more refined knowledge of chandaḥśāstra. Defining the vaktra-meter Since the vaKtRa-meteR peRmits several different metrical patterns, Piṅgala gives a series of rules that exclude or mandate the occurrence of particular gaṇas in specific places within each pāda. The first and last syllable of each pāda is anceps, i.e., either light or heavy. The first five rules (PS 5.10–14) describe the first and most common variety of the vaktra known as pathyā, “proper.”18 1. PS 5.10 na prathamāt snau. “No sa- or na-gaṇa after the first syllable.” In other words, the second and third syllables of any pāda cannot both be light. Not allowed in any pāda: x ⏑ ⏑ – x x x x or x ⏑ ⏑ ⏑ x x x x.19 2. PS 5.11 dvitīyacaturthayo raś ca. “Nor a ra-gaṇa in the second or fourth (pāda after the first syllable).” 18 The feminine ending likely refers to the woman who speaks, i.e., “the mouth of a proper woman.” Cf. VR 2.22, where pathyāvaktram occurs in compound. 19 I do not use “x” here to represent an anceps syllable but simply as a placeholder. n otes on th e sa n sK R it “ śl oK a ” 4 By this rule an excessively iambic even pāda is avoided. Not allowed in pādas b and d: x – ⏑ – x x x x. 3. PS 5.12 vānyat. “Other (gaṇas) are permitted.” 4. PS 5.13 ya caturthāt. “After the fourth syllable (of any pāda), there is a yagaṇa.” This rule applies to all four pādas and is the last to define the basic vaktra. Note, however, that in the more familiar śloka (pathyā), this rule applies only to the odd pādas. See the following sūtra. In all pādas: x x x x ⏑ – – x. 5. PS 5.14 pathyā yujo j. “The pathyā (has) a ja-gaṇa in the even pādas (after the fourth syllable).” This rule accounts for the iambic cadence so characteristic of the śloka and restricts the scope of the preceding rule. In even pādas: x x x x ⏑ – ⏑ x. Although Halāyudha is able to produce verses that fit the general definition of the vaktra-meter, i.e., with a ya-gaṇa after the fourth syllable in each pāda,20 it is the pathyā variety of vaktra that is most common among classical poets and in the epics.21 The vipulās 20 See further SteineR (1996: 232ff.) 21 This curious situation parallels the definition of the āryā-meter and its standard variety, also termed pathyā. See PS 4.14–22. Although seveRal vaRietes of the vaktra are included in the PS, VR, etc., which need not concern us here as they are of rather rare occurrence in classical poetry,22 the most important modifications fall under the general term vipulā “loud, noble”23 the feminine ending likely referring again to the female speaker, although the compound vipulā-vaktra does not seem to occur. Their defining feature, as the term is generally used, is that one or both of the odd pādas do not contain a ya-gaṇa (⏑ – –). In its place are permitted:24 23 24 PS 5.19 bhrau ntau ca; VR 2.27–30. 1. A bha-gaṇa – ⏑ ⏑. Ex. uttiṣṭhamānas tu paro nopekṣyaḥ pathyam icchatā |25 25 Śiśupālavadha 2.10ab. 2. A ra-gaṇa – ⏑ –. Ex. sakāranānārakāsakāyasādadasāyakā |26 26 Śiśupālavadha 19.29ab. 3. A na-gaṇa ⏑ ⏑ ⏑. Ex. vapraprākārajaghanāṃ vipulāmbunavāmbarām |27 27 Rāmāyaṇa 5.2.22ab. 4. A ta-gaṇa – – ⏑. Ex. vande kaviṃ śrībhāraviṃ lokasaṃtamasacchidam |28 28 Others29 add the following: 5. A ma-gaṇa – – –. Ex. atha pradoṣe doṣajñaḥ saṃveśāya viśāṃ patim |30 After the first heavy syllable there is a word boundary, a fact not noted in chandaḥśāstra (to the best of my knowledge). 22 See PS 5.15f. and 17, VR 2.23–26. See SteineR (1996: 237ff.) for a reconstruction of the original meaning of the vipulā. Quoted by Halāyudha ad PS 5.19. See Kena Upaniṣad 1.9a yat prāṇena na prāṇiti for an example. 29 Halāyudha ad PS 5.19, Nārāyaṇabhaṭṭa ad VR 2.30. Ratnākaraśānti uniquely includes the ma-vipulā in his sūtra-text, Chandoratnākara 4.11. 30 Raghuvaṃśa 1.93ab. n otes on th e sa n sK R it “ śl oK a ” 5 6. A sa-gaṇa ⏑ ⏑ –.31 Ex. kṣaṇavidhvaṃsini kāye kā cintā maraṇe raṇe |32 A verse can contain a vipulā in either one or both of its hemistiches. Furthermore, different vipulās can also be combined in a single verse, e.g., Kumārasambhava 6.17: 31 So Halāyudha. Bhaṭṭanārāyaṇa curiously mentions a ya-vipulā. 32 Parāśarasmṛti 3.37cd, as cited by Halāyudha. Edition reads kṣaṇadhvaṃsini kāye ’smin in pāda c. yad adhyakṣeṇa jagatāṃ vayam āropitās tvayā | manorathasyāviṣayaṃ manoviṣayam ātmanaḥ || 6.17 In the first pāda, there is a na-vipulā; in the third, a bha-vipulā. Finally, the fourth syllable of an odd pāda in a vipulā half-verse is usually heavy, i.e., before bha, ra, etc. there is a heavy syllable, a bit of traditional wisdom reported by commentators.33 Note that Macdonell’s chart for the śloka34 is too restrictive with regard to syllables 2–4 of a vipulā half-verse—said to be limited to a ra-gaṇa or, in the case of a na-vipulā, optionally a ya-gaṇa—as the usage of poets can run contrary to the given restrictions, albeit they are generally valid. See, e.g., Raghuvaṃśa 12.12a athānāthāḥ prakṛtayo.35 Summary 33 E.g., Halāyudha ad PS 5.19 (end): sarvāsāṃ vipulānāṃ caturtho varṇaḥ prāyeṇa gurur bhavatīty āmnāyaḥ. 34 Macdonell (1927: 233). 35 Further, rather limited statistics can be found in OldenbeRg (1881: 183–185). A synoptic chart is on p. 187. The śloKa is a complex meteR that is best learned by closely reading classical authors such as Kālidāsa (who is held to have employed it most skilfully) in addition to memorizing the rules laid out above. While scanning verses, one should always keep an eye out for vipulās. As for the various rules, it is helpful to remember that in the first half of each pāda, certain gaṇas are excluded so as to avoid two light syllables immediately after the first and an excessively iambic rhythm in even pādas. On the other hand, the second half of each pāda requires a specific metrical pattern beginning with the fifth syllable: a ya-gaṇa in the odd pādas and a ja-gaṇa in the even pādas. Lastly, a vipulā can be quickly identified by discovering that the fifth and sixth syllables of an odd pāda do not form an iamb (⏑ –). In short: 1. Forbidden in all pādas: x ⏑ ⏑ x x x x x. 2. Forbidden in even pādas: x – ⏑ – x x x x. 3. Required in odd pādas: x x x x ⏑ – – x.36 4. 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