6. Metres Employed in the Hanumannāṭaka

The idea of Chandas is as old as the Vedāṅgas.^[1] Chandas or metre is an essential element of versified poetry. Chandas is a Vidyā (Science), essentially a proyogaśāstra i.e. applied science, arranged in assemblage (citi) of sounds or letters. Hence this science is termed chandoviciti also. Sāyaṇa in his preface to the commentary of the Ṛgveda has derived the word ‘Chandas’ variously. It is stated that the Chandas removes the sin of men, so it is called Chandas.^[2] Again the word ‘Chandas’ is derived from the root chad or chadi, meaning ‘to cover’. The Chandas envelopes the sin of men and so it is called Chandas. In the Siddhāntakaumudī, the root chad is explained in the sense of restriction, cf. chadi samvarane^[3]. In the Nirukta of Yāska, the derivation is given as chandāmsi chādanāt^[4], which means Chandas comes from the root chad. In Pāṇini’s grammar, as mentioned in the preface of the Chandomañjarī, the derivation is given as: chandayati hlādayati iti chandah; canderādeśca chaḥ.^[5]

The science of metrics constitutes the very essential element of the Vedāṅgas. In the Muṇḍakopaniṣad, the enumeration of the six Vedāṅgas occurs very clearly.^[6]

Successful poets are always aware of choosing selective words in their writings in conformity with the harmonious arrangement of syllables in those words. Harmonical succession of syllables in a piece of composition creates a rhythm. Such rhythm touches the softest corner of the reader’s heart. One should have a proper idea of Chandas. Anundoram Borooah has rightly observed–“A practical acquaintance with prosody not only enables us to successfully grapple with the former difficulties, but also in the case of classical texts always and in the case of older texts often to detect all ordinary faults of omission, insertion and alternation.”^[7]

There are seven metres viz., gāyatrī, uṣṇik, anuṣṭubh, bṛhati, paṅkti, triṣṭup and jagatī used in the Vedas, while a large number of metres are in vogue in classical Sanskrit.

The classical metres are firstly divided into two heads, viz., vṛtta and jāti.^[8] A vṛtta type of the metre is regulated by the number and position of syllables in each quarter.^[9] It is of three^[10] varieties, depending upon the number syllables in each quarter, namely–the samavṛtta (having equal number of syllables in each quarter), the ardhasamavṛtta (having the same number of syllables in every alternate quarter) and viṣamavṛtta (having varied number of syllables in each quarter). In the case of jāti^[11] the metre is determined by mātrā (syllabic instants) in each quarter of the stanza. It is said that employment of various metres in a work shows the poetic proficiency of a poet.

According to Suvṛttatilaka^[12] (SV) of Kṣemendra, he who uses a few types of metres in his work is regarded as a poet of lesser degree. As a true classical poet, the author of the Hanumannāṭaka (Hanumannāṭaka) appears trying to prove his skill and ability of composing the stanzas in various types of metres. Here is a discussion on the metres used in the Hanumannāṭaka.

Anuṣṭubh

This metre, which is known as śloka also, is manifold. The widely used variety of this metre possesses eight syllables in each quarter. The fifth syllable in each quarter should be laghu (short), the sixth guru (long) and the seventh alternately long and short.^[13] In the Hanumannāṭaka the following verses are written in this metre. They are—I: 14,15,16,20,40; III: 1,24,; IV: 5, V: 4,13,14, 17, 25, 31, 32, 35, 36, 45, 46, 56, 58; VI: 1,2,7,15,18,23,31,38,39,42,43,44,45,46;VII: 14, 18,; VIII: 17, 21, 26, 27, 47,; IX: 13, 14, 15, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 24, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 38,; X: 6, 9, 17, 23; XI: 9,10,12,19,20; XII: 1; XIII: 6,7,8,9,13,15,35,36; XIV: 18, 24, 28, 30, 32, 53, 59, 72, 76, 80, 81, 95. Altogether ninety numbers of verses in the Hanumannāṭaka are composed in this metre.

Indravajrā

The metre Indravajrā^[14] contains eleven syllables in each quarter having the gaṇas namely Ta, Ta, Ja, Ga, and Ga. The following verses of the Hanumannāṭaka are written in this metre.—I: 50, 51, 52, 56; II: 15, 24, 25; III: 3, 21; IV: 15; V: 21, 28; VI: 27; IX: 4, 40; X: 7; XI: 1, XIII: 30; XIV: 48, 56. Total number of verses in this metre is twenty.

Upendravajrā

If the first syllable of each of the quarter in a verse of the metre Indravajrā is laghu (short), then the metre is known as Upendravajrā.^[15] There are four verses in the Hanumannāṭaka composed in this metre. These are I: 36; III: 10; XII: 5; XIV: 17

Rathoddhatā

Rathoddhatā^[16] is the metre which consists of eleven syllables in each foot with the gaṇas namely Ra, Na, Ra, La and Ga. Verse number 28 and 30 of the 1^st Act of the Hanumannāṭaka are composed in this metre.

Upajāti

When the metres Indravajrā and Upendravajrā or Indravaṃsa and Vaṃśastha or some other two metres are mixed or joined in one stanza, it is called Upajāti.^[17] There are twenty-eight verses in the Hanumannāṭaka written in this metre. They are shown here in this way—IV: 4, 16, 16; V: 7, 30, 40, 61, 62; VI: 12, 25, 33; VII: 8, 11, 12, 16, 20; VIII: 1, 18; IX: 34, 41; XI: 6, 18; XII: 14; XIII: 19, XIV: 70, 86, 89, 91.

Drutavilambita

The metre Drutavilambita^[18] consists of twelve syllables in each foot and it has the gaṇas in the order of Na, Bha, Bha and Ra respectively. This metre is found to be employed in the following two verses of the Hanumannāṭaka.—I: 9, XIV: 58

Puṣpitāgrā

The metre Puṣpitāgrā^[19] belonging to the ardhasamavṛtta group consists of the gaṇas in the order of Na, Na, Ra, and Ya in the two odd quarters and Na, Ja, Ja, Ra,and Ga in the even quarters. There are only two verses in the Hanumannāṭaka, composed in this metre. They are:—XIV: 49, 92.

Vaṃśasthavila

This metre consists of twelve syllables in each foot and the gaṇas therein are Ja, Ta, Ja and Ra respectively. The metre Vaṃśasthavila^[20] is known by the term Vaṃśastha and Vaṃśasthanita also. The following two verses of the Hanumannāṭaka are composed in this metre.—VI: 35; VII: 10

Vasantatilaka

Vasantatilaka^[21] is a metre, which consists of fourteen syllables in each quarter and the gaṇas therein are Ta, Bha, Ja, Ja, Ga and Ga respectively. The Hanumannāṭaka contains the following verses of this type of metre.—I:17, 21, 25, 39, 44 46, 57, 59; II:13, 28, 30; III: 2, 6, 7, 8, 13; IV: 1, 12, 14; V: 1, 5, 8, 9, 29, 37, 42, 47, 49, 50, 53, 57, 59; VI: 17, 20, 32; VIII: 4; IX: 39; X: 21, 22; XI: 2, 15, 17, 28, 30, 31, 33, 35, 37, 38; XIV: 37

Total number of verses in this metre in the drama is fifty.

Mālinī

The metre which comprises fifteen syllables in each foot and the gaṇas wherein are in the sequence of Na, Na, Ma, Ya and Ya, is known as Mālinī.^[22] The yati exists after the eighth (bhogi) and then after the seventh (loka) syllable. The Hanumannāṭaka contains thirty-eight verses in this metre. They are:—I: 18; II: 8, 16, 17, 18, 20, 21, 26, 27, 29; III: 15, 16, 17, 19, 20, 25; IV: 2, 54; VI: 9, 13; VII: 1, 2, 3, 15; VIII: 31; X: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 8, 16; XI: 14, 23; XIII: 34; XIV: 36, 54, 96.

Mandākrāntā

Mandākrāntā^[23] is a metre which consists of seventeen syllables and the gaṇas therein are Ma, Bha, Na, Ta, Ta, Ga and Ga respectively. The Yati exists after the fourth (ambudhi) and then after the sixth (rasa) and then after the seventh (naga) syllable. The following seventeen verses of the Hanumannāṭaka are composed in this metre.—I: 42, 45; II: 1, 2, 10, 14; III: 5; V: 27, 43, 44; VIII: 29; XII: 15-17; XIII:3, 23; XIV: 20.

Śikhariṇī

The metre Śikhariṇī^[24] contains seventeen syllables in each pādas and the gaṇas used therein are Ya, Ma, Na, Sa, Bha, La, and Ga respectively. A gaṇa is a group of three syllables. But Ga denotes a long syllable and La a short. The Yati exists after the sixth (rasa) and then after the eleventh (rudra). There are twenty-one verses in the Hanumannāṭaka written in this metre. These are shown here—I: 13, 19, 47; II: 23; VI: 29; VII: 7; VIII: 16,38,51; X: 12, 24; XI: 11,41; XIV: 1,9,11,14,25,40,62,69

Śārdūlavikrīḍita

Śārdūlavikrīḍita^[25] is the metre, which consists of nineteen syllables in each quarter with the gaṇas viz., Ma, Sa, Ja, Sa, Ta, Ta and Ga. Here the Yati exists after the twelfth (sūrya) and then after the seventh (aśva) syllables.There are one hundred and sixty-nine verses in the Hanumannāṭaka which are written in this metre. The verses are as follows:—I: 2, 3, 5, 6, 7, 8, 10, 11, 12, 22, 23, 24, 26, 27, 29, 32, 41, 43, 48, 53, 54, 55; II: 4, 5, 6,6, 7; III: 11, 14, 18, 22, 23, 26; IV: 2, 7, 7, 8, 9, 11, V: 3, 11, 12, 15, 16, 18, 22, 23, 24, 26, 48, 55, 63, 64, VI: 3, 4, 6, 8, 14, 16, 19, 21, 22, 28, 30, 36, 40, 41; VII: 4, 5, 9, 13, 19; VIII: 2, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 20, 23, 24, 28, 30, 32, 34, 35, 36, 37, 39, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 49, 50, 52, 53, 54, 55, 56, 57, 58; IX: 1, 2, 3, 5, 6, 9, 10, 11, 12, 35, 36, 37; X: 10, 11, 15; XI: 3, 4, 5, 21; XIII: 5, 12, 28, 33, 38; XIV: 2, 3, 4, 6, 10, 12, 21, 22, 23, 26, 29, 31, 35, 39, 43, 44, 45, 46, 51, 52, 55, 57, 60, 61, 63, 65, 66, 67, 71, 78, 79, 82, 83, 84, 85, 87, 88, 90, 93.

Sragdharā

The metre Sragdharā^[26] contains twenty-one syllables in each quarter and the gaṇas therein are Ma, Ra, Bha, Na, Ya, Ya, and Ya. The Yati exists after the every seventh (muni) syllable in this metre. There are eighty-one verses in the Hanumannāṭaka composed in this metre. They are as follows:—I: 1, 4, 31, 33, 37, 38, 58; II: 3, 9, 12, 19, 22; III: 4, 9, 12, 27; IV: 3, 10, V: 10, 20, 34, 39, 41, 51, 52, 60; VI: 5, 10, 11, 24, 34, 37; VII: 6, 17; VIII: 3, 14, 19, 25, 33, 40, 46, 48; IX: 7; X: 13, 18, 20, 29; XI: 7, 8, 16, 22, 24, 25, 26, 27,29, 34, 36, 39, 40; XII: 2, 12, 19; XIII: 4, 14, 20, 21, 24, 31, 32; XIV: 5, 7, 8, 15, 16, 19, 41, 68, 73, 77,94.

Footnotes and references:

[1]:

(i) śikṣā vyākaraṇaṃ chando niruktaṃjyotiṣaṃ tathā kalpaśceti ṣaḍaṅgāni vedasyāhurmanīsiṇaḥ Agrawal, Sanskrit Sāhitya Ka Itihāsa, pp. 331/363
(ii) śikṣā kalpo’vyakaraṇaṃ niruktam chando jyotiṣam Muṇḍakopaniṣad. I. 1.5

[2]:

puruṣasya pāpasaṃbandhaṃ vārayituṃ ācchādakatvat chanda ityucate/ Ṛgveda, p. 32

[3]:

curādiprakaraṇa; dhātu, 1577, Siddhāntakaumudī

[4]:

daivatakakāṇḍa, 7.12.2, Nirukta

[5]:

nivedyaṃ, Chandomañjarī (Preface), p. 3

[6]:

tatrāparā ṛgveda yajurvedaḥ sāmavedo’tharvavedaḥ śikṣa kalpo vyākaraṇaṃ niruktaṃ chando jyotiṣamiti/ Muṇḍakopaniṣad, 1.1.5

[7]:

Prosody, p. (i)

[8]:

(i) padyaṃ catuṣpadī tacca vṛttaṃ jatiriti dvidhā/ Chandomañjarī, I.4, Kāvyādarśa, I. 11
(ii) tatravṛttaṃ cajātiṃca padyamāhurathopṛthak/ Sarasvatikaṇṭhābharaṇa, II. 24

[9]:

vṛttaṃakṣara saṃkhyātaṃ / Chandomañjarī, I.4

[10]:

(i) samamardhasamaṃ vṛttaṃ viṣmañcetitat tridhā samaṃ samacatuṣpādaṃ bhavatyardhasamaṃ punaḥ ādistṛtyavad yasya pādasturyodvitiyavat bhinnacihnacatuṣpāḍaṃ viṣamaṃ parikirtitam Ibid., I. 56
(ii) samaṃ cārdhasamaṃ caitadviṣamaṃ ca pracakṣate Sarasvatikaṇṭhābharaṇa, II.24

[11]:

jātirmātrā kṛtā bhavet/ Chandomañjarī I.4

[12]:

ekasminnevayairvṛtte kṛto dvitreṣu vā śramaḥ /
na nāma viniyogārhāste daridra ivotsave// SV. III.26

[13]:

pañcamaṃ laghusarvatra saptamaṃ dvicaturthayoḥ guru ṣaṣṭhaṃ ca jāniyāt śesesvaniyamo mataḥ loke’nuṣṭuviti khyātam tasyāṣṭakṣaratāmata—Chandomañjarī, IV, p. 155

[14]:

syādindravajrā yaditau jagau gaḥ/ ibid. II, p. 36

[15]:

upendrndravajrā prathame laghusā/ ibid., II, p. 37

[16]:

rātparairnaralagai rathoddhatā ibid., II, p. 43

[17]:

anantarodīrītalakṣmabhājau pādauyadīyāvupajātayo staḥ /
itthaṃ kilānyāsvāpi miśritāsu vadanti jātiosvidameva nāma / ibid., II, p. 38

[18]:

drutavilambitamāha nabhau bharau Chandomañjarī, II, p. 55

[19]:

ayuji na yagarephato yakāro yujica najau jaragāsca puṣpitāgrā / ibid., III, p. 145

[20]:

vadantī vaṃśasthavilaṃ jataujarau ibid., II, p. 49

[21]:

jñeyaṃ vasantatilakaṃ tabhajājagaugaḥ ibid., p. 73

[22]:

nanamayayayuteyaṃ mālinī bhogilokaiḥ ibid., II, p. 81

[23]:

mandākrāntāmbhudhirasanagairmo bhanau tau gayugmam ibid., II, p. 87

[24]:

rasaiḥrudraiśchinnā yamanasabhatāgaḥ śikhariṇī ibid., II, p

[25]:

sūryāśvairmasajastatāḥ saguravaḥ śārdulavikrīditaṃ ibid., II, p. 89

[26]:

mrabhnair -yānāṃ trayena trimuniyatiyutā sragdharā kīrtiteyam ibid., II, p. 23