Outline of the Metres Home Page    Next Chapter

Four: Index and Glossary
(Roman order of letters)

Addhasamavutta (ardhasamavçtta)

a metre having two dissimilar lines repeated to make up a verse e.g. Siloka, Vetàlãya, see also 2.20ff

akkharacchandas (akùaracchandas), see vaõõacchandas

anacrusis

one or two extra syllables at the beginning of a line, before the metre proper begins.

anceps Å

indicates that the syllable may be heavy or light in the stated position. In the Pàëi canonical period the last syllable in a line is nearly always considered to be anceps, and sometimes the first syllable too, see pàdàdigaru & pàdantagaru.

Anuññhubha (Anuùñubh), see 2.3ff

1) this is a Vedic metre originally having a samavutta structure ÅÜÅÜÐÛÜÛé (x 4). Over time variations from this basic pattern started to emerge, which eventually gave rise to a new metre having two dissimilar lines, the Siloka. As this was a gradual evolution at which point we should declare the metre to have gone over from Anuññhubha to Siloka is a moot point. But the general position is that in the Pàëi canonical period we find that we are dealing with the new metre, which has an Addhasamavutta structure (see the Appendix for more details).

2) The name is also used when describing a variation that occurs in the odd lines of Siloka metre, which shows the same structure as the line illustrated above, and which is therefore the same as the Siloka even line.

3) Also used as a generic name applied to any metre having 8 syllables to the line.

anusvara, see niggahãta

Aparavatta (Aparavaktra) 2.22

âpàtalikà 2.13

Ariyà (âryà) 2.17

1) a gaõacchandas metre having two dissimilar lines with a matta count of 30 + 27

2) sometimes the name is used generically to refer to any gaõacchandas metre.

assimilation

euphonic change whereby one consonant takes the form of another which follows or precedes it e.g. ud + ghàta > ugghàta

br, see 1.5

Brahatã, generic name for metres having 9 syllables to the line

bar metres, see gaõacchandas

break

the middle part of the Tuññhubha and other similar metres, see 2.6

cadence

the closing rhythm of a line, or pair of lines

caesura, see yati

catalectic

having an incomplete number of syllables or mattà (opp: acatalectic, complete).

chandas

1) prosody, metre

2) sometimes is used loosely to indicate merely the number of syllables in a line

cheda, pause, see also yati

closed syllable see 1.1

conjunct consonants

two (or more) consonants which are not separated by a vowel e.g. -tt- in mettà, -ndr- in indriya.

contraction

change from original two short vowels (usually separated by a semivowel) to one long one e.g. aya > e, ava > o. This sometimes makes sense of otherwise metrically `wrong' verses.

Dodhaka 2.21

dãgha (dãrgha)

used to refer to a naturally long vowel, not to be confused with garu (heavy) which refers to metrical weight

digraphs

two letters that indicate but one sound, see 1.2

elision

the loss of a syllable, or part of a syllable, at the beginning or end of a word (which sometimes happens m.c.)

epenthesis

the insertion of a vowel between two consonants for euphonic reasons, see sarabhatti

euphony

ease of pronounciation, see also sandhi

even line = posterior line = the second line in a pàdayuga

fixed metre

vaõõacchandas type 2, see 2.20ff

foot

a division of a line of poetry, usually consisting of 3 syllables, see also gaõa

gaõa, a bar or section

1) in gaõacchandas metre this refers to a bar which seems to be derived from musical structure. These gaõas accurately reflect the rythmic structure of the metres. There are five such gaõas, which are given here with their Sanskrit and Greek names.

jagaõa ÛÜÛ amphibrachys

bhagaõa ÜÛÛ dactylus

sagaõa ÛÛÜ anapaest

sabbagaru ÜÜ spondee

sabbalahu ÛÛÛÛ proceleusmaticus

 

2) a division consisting of 3 syllables which is a kind of shorthand used to describe the vaõõacchandas metres. There are 8 such gaõas which are used in Classical Indian theory:

jagaõa ÛÜÛ amphibrachys

bhagaõa ÜÛÛ dactylus

sagaõa ÛÛÜ anapæst

yagaõa ÛÜÜ bacchius

ragaõa ÜÛÜ cretius, amphimacer

tagaõa ÜÜÛ palimbacchius

magaõa ÜÜÜ molossus

nagaõa ÛÛÛ tribrachys

 

in the descriptions that occur in the Indian prosodies these are normally indicated as ja, bha, sa, etc.

la(hu) Û and ga(ru) Ü are used to describe the end syllable(s);

(note: ÛÜ = iambus; ÜÛ = trochee; ÜÜ = spondee; ÛÛ = pyrrhic)

Although these signs can be used to describe the alternation of heavy and light syllables quite accurately, they often disguise the underlying structure of the metres, so that e.g. Indavajirà is described as being ta ta ja ga ga, which when written out gives the pattern:

ÜÜÛÐÜÜÛÐÛÜÛÐÜÜ,

this gives the impression that there are rhythmic patterns in the metre which do not, in fact, appear. The structure is better defined like this:

ÜÜÛÜÐÜÛÛÐÜÛÜÜ,

which better reflects the rhythm.

gaõacchandas

name of a class of metres built around the first of the gaõa principles outlined above, there are about 450 gaõacchandas verses in the canon, see 2.15ff

garu

a heavy syllable metrically, see 1.1ff

gàthà

variously translated as verse, stanza, or strophe. A gàthà normally consists of 4 lines, sometimes 6, though occasionally we come across a verse which is defective in this regard

geyya

literally singable, in the tradition signifies a type of composition of mixed prose and verse, some of which at least may have been `performed' to illustrate points of Buddhist doctrine or folklore. Sagàthavagga of Saüyuttanikàya contains many examples of geyya

Gãti

literally song 2.17ff cf. also Old Gãti 2.16

Gubbinã (Gurviõi)

a gaõacchandas hypermetre 2.19

half-verse (or half-stanza etc.) see pàdayuga

haplography

omission of a syllable by accident when it appears twice in a word

hiatus

1) a gap

2) two vowels in succession without an intervening consonant

hypermetre

1) a class of metres composed using extendable forms, see 2.19

2) having a syllable, or syllables additional to the normal metre (even a line showing syllabic resolution may be referred to as hypermetric)

ictus

in metre a syllable that is stressed or emphasized (ictus strictly speaking does not apply to Pàëi verse composition, but it is sometimes mentioned in the literature).

Jagatã

1) a syllabic metre 2.6ff

2) a generic name for any metre having 12 syllables to the line

Jàti

1) another name for the measure metres

2) another name for Upajàti

junction, see sandhi

kabba (kàvya),

literature

lahu (laghu)

a light syllable metrically, see 1.1ff

Màgadhikà (a.k.a. Màgadhã)

another name for Vetàlãya (2.10), presumably because Magadhi is where the metre originated

mattà (màtrà)

literally a measure, light syllables are counted as one mattà, heavy ones as two

mattàchandas (màtràchandas), measure metre 2.9ff

there are about 400 verses in mattàchandas metre in the canon

measure metre, see mattàchandas above

metathesis

exchange of syllabic position e.g. kariyà > kayirà

metrical licence, see 1.8ff

metri causa,

the metre is the cause (of a change in word form)

mora = mattà = a measure

musical metres

refers to the mattàchandas and gaõacchandas metres which have been derived under the influence of musical structures

new metres

refers to the mattàchandas, gaõacchandas, and fixed vaõõacchandas metres

niggahãta

the pure nasal sound. Only occurs normally after a short vowel (i.e as aü, iü, & uü), but then makes that syllable heavy metrically, sometimes also referred to as anusvara (the Sanskrit name for this sound), see 1.1 & 1.11

odd line = prior line = the first line in a pàdayuga

Old Gãti (a.k.a. Old âryà)

the earliest form of gaõacchandas metre 2.16

Opacchandasaka (Aupacchandasaka) 2.10

opening

the beginning section of a line, may be followed by a break and cadence as in Tuññhubha and related metres, or simply by a cadence as in Siloka and the mattàchandas metres

open syllable, see 1.1

pàda

a line of verse

pàdàdigaru

a light syllable that is counted as heavy because it stands at the beginning of a line (this is sometimes seen in early gaõacchandas verses)

pàdantagaru

a light syllable that is counted as heavy because it stands at the end of a line, see 2.9

pàdayuga

1) a pair of lines

2) sometimes loosely used to refer to a line in gaõacchandas verse

pajja (padya)

verse (as opposed to gajja [gadya], prose)

Pamitakkharà (Pramitàkùarà) 2.21

Panti (Pàïkti),

generic name for metres having 10 syllables to the line

partial vowels, see sarabhatti

pathyà

the normal structure of a line (as opposed to vipulà, variation), see 2.3

pause, cheda (see also yati)

position

for syllables not making position see 1.5

posterior pàda = even line = the second line in a pàdayuga

prior pàda = odd line = the first line in a pàdayuga

Pupphitaggà (Puùpitàgrà) 2.12

rassa

a naturally short vowel, not to be confused with lahu, which refers to metrical weight

Rathoddhatà 2.12

recitor's remarks 1.13

redundant syllable

a syllable extra to the metre

replacement, see 1.14ff

resolution, see 1.14, 1.15; 2.4; 2.15

Rucirà 2.8

samavutta (samavçtta)

a metre having the same line repeated (normally four times) to make up a verse e.g. Tuññhubha, Rucirà, Pamitakkharà, see also 2.20ff

samprasàna, reduction

a phonetic change whereby a semi-vowel is reduced to its vowel equivalent e.g. ya > ã; va > å.

sandhi

refers to the junction between words, and the euphonic changes that take place accordingly

sara (svara),

vowel; (vyaÿjana, consonant)

sarabhatti (svarabhakti)

literally a broken vowel, an anaptyctic or epenthetic vowel, see 1.6

scansion

metrical analysis, see 1.1ff

Siloka (øloka)

see 1.3ff

stanza, see gàthà

strophe, see gàthà

Svàgatà 2.14

syllable

can be defined as a word, or a part of a word, which can be uttered with a single effort of the voice

syllabic metres, vaõõacchandas type 1, see 2.1ff

syncopation

a change in the order of syllables, which produces a different rhythm e.g.ÜÜÛÛ > ÜÛÜÛ see 2.10

ti

quotation marker 1.13

Tuññhubha (Triùñubh) 2.6ff

also sometimes used as a generic name for any metre having 11 syllables to the line

Uggatà (Udgatà) 2.23

Uggãti (Udgãti) 2.17

Upagãti 2.17

Upajàti 2.8

sometimes loosely referred to as Tuññhubha

Upaññhità 2.21

Upaññhitappacupita (Upasthitapracupita) 2.23

Vaüsaññhà (Vaüèasthà) 2.8

sometimes loosely referred to as Jagatã

vaõõacchandas (varõacchandas), the syllablic metres, there are two types:

1) the flexible syllabic metres e.g. Siloka, Tuññhubha, in which the syllabic patterns are still somewhat variable, see 2.1ff

2) the fixed syllabic metres, in which all, or nearly all, of the syllables are of fixed quantity e.g. Vaüsaññhà, Uggatà, see 2.20ff

vaçõaka

a descriptive compound having an extendable metrical structure, see 2.19

Veóha 2.19

Vegavatã, see âpàtalikà 2.13

Vetàlãya (Vaitàlãya) 2.10

vipulà, variation (as opposed to pathyà, normal) 2.4

visamavutta (visamavçtta)

a verse with 4 dissimilar lines 2.23ff

vutta (vçtta)

a fixed syllablic metre, vaõõacchandas type 2

vutti

the weight of a syllable

yati, caesura

a word break (not a pause as sometimes stated). Occasionally the word break is hidden or concealed (avyakata) in a compound