The Music of Hindostan c13.s2: II. Verse

The Music of Hindostan c13.s2

Language: English

II. Verse

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Sanskrit metres fall into two main classes: (1) those which consist of quarter-verses (*pāda*) of a given number of syllables, and (2) those which consist of verses of a given number of feet, each foot having a given time-length which is reached by equivalence. The first are called ‘syllable-fixed’ (*varṇavṛtta*), the second ‘time-unit-fixed’ (*mātrāvṛtta*).

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In the first class (*varṇavṛtta*), when the *pāda* does not exceed eight syllables most of them are of optional quantity; when it exceeds eight the quantity of every syllable is fixed. The typical metre of this class with an eight syllable *pāda* is the *śloka*, the ‘flowing’ measure. The following lines constitute the first two *ślokas* of Bharata’s *Nāṭyaśāstram* (28th *adhyāya*):

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tātām caivāvaṇaddhām că | ghănām śūṣirăm ēvă că
cătūrvidhām tū vijñēyăm | ātōdyām lākṣaṇānvĭtăm (1)
tātām tāntrīkṛtām jñēyam | avanaddham tū pauśkărăm
ghănām tālās tū vijñēyăḥ | śūṣirō vāṃśă ēvă că (2)

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The first two lines make a verse marked off into quarter-verses. Though the normal verse is a distich, an occasional tristich or three-line unity is, as in Scott’s ballad metre, not excluded. The sense ends with the couplet, which includes, as in Pope’s heroic metre, both the subject and the predicate of the sentence. Out of the sixteen syllables in the line only four are fixed by rule as regards quantity. These are marked below the words in the example; the quantity of the other syllables is optional; and the two lines of the *śloka* are independent of one another as regards this distribution.

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But it is difficult to realize the prosody of a language which is not familiar. The scansion may therefore be illustrated in any language which, like Latin, distinguishes quantity. The quantity of these particular lines is accordingly reproduced in the following rule for the versification of the *śloka*:

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Hăbēnt pērnīcĭtātēmqŭē : pēdūm mōdūmqŭē cārmĭnă.
Mōdīs brēvēsqŭē lōngīqŭē : mīscēntūr vērsīpēllĭbūs.
Brēvīs qūīntūs lōcūs, sūmmō īn : pēdē dūplēx īāmbŭs ēst.
Brēvī lōngāvē mōmēntă : sōnāntūr vōcē cāetēră.¹

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¹ ‘The verses contain feet which are at once measured and flowing. Longs and shorts are mingled by chameleon-like measures. The fifth place is short; there is a di-iambus in the last foot. The other syllables are sounded either long or short.’

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Even this, however, is not quite satisfactory, as Latin does not convey the sonority of the ubiquitous *ā* sound in the Sanskrit, or the final thud of such a word as *lakṣananvitam*, which is more heavily stressed than the final of, for instance, *pedum*.²

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² When sung, the note to which it is set is hummed on the *m* and not vocalized on the *a*.

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The *śloka*, or *anuṣṭubh* (‘with regular stops’) is the most famous of all Sanskrit metres. There are two other typical examples of a *pāda* with 8, or less, syllables—the *gāyatrī* (‘singing’) of 3 × 8 = 24 syllables, and the *uṣṇih* (‘hymn’) of 4 × 7 = 28, which like the *śloka* have a large number of optional quantities and only a few fixed.

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When the *pāda* is of more than 8 syllables—as in the *triṣṭubh* (‘with three stops’) and the *jagatī* (‘lively’), of 11 and 12 syllables respectively, and various others up to 21 or more syllables—all the quantities are fixed. Couplets of these greater lengths are usually written in stanzas of four lines, and the lines are in modern poetry rhymed. Here is an instance of the *triṣṭubh* genus (11 syllabled); it has the poetical name of ‘the thunderbolt of Indra’ (*Upendravajra*), and is in Marathi (rhymed):

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Nā-hēṇ nābhō-māṇḍălă, vārī-rāsī,
Nā tārākā, phēnsăcī hā tăyāsī,
Nā cāndrāhā, nāvācī cālătāhē,
Nā ānkă tō, tīvără sīdă āhē.

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Metre, Upendravajra.

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◡ — ◡ — — ◡ — ◡ — ◡ —
Not this the sky-vault, but a li-quid o-cean;
Not stars we see span-gle, but flecks of sea-foam;
No moon a-loft glides, but a ship; and those spots
Masts, that the wind bends as she runs be-fore it.

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Ex. 305. Na heṇ na-bho-maṇ - ḍa-la vā - ri - rā - śī

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Musical notation with lyrics: Na tā . . ra - kā, pheṇ - sa - ci hā ta - yā - śī

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Musical notation with lyrics: Na can - dra hā, nā - va - ci cā - la - tā - he . .

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Musical notation with lyrics: Na an - ka to tī - va - ra śī - da ā - he.

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It will be noticed that the line is composed of the first half of an Alcaic (◡ — ◡ — —) and the second half of a Sapphic (◡ ◡ — ◡ — ◡). And there is a pretty story of Alcaeus having sent Sappho a line which began, similarly, in his metre and ended in hers:

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Alcaic.
Ĭ - ō - plŏk’ āg - nā mēl - lī - chŏ - mēi - dě Sāp - phōi¹

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¹ Dark tress'd, chaste, dimpled Sappho!

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Sapphic.

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which, but for the fifth syllable, is exactly the metre Upendravajra. It does not spoil the grace of the valentine if we fancy that its metre was one of many Aryan memories that lingered on in the Hellenic consciousness.

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Upendravajra is read thus:

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Nă-hēṇ năbhō- | māndălă | vārī-rāśī

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as the arrangement of the words in the four lines of Marathi shows This is of the form *a + b + a'*, in which *a'* is *a* taken backwards, and *b* is a well-contrasted member of the line. This suggests an interesting reading of the scansion of Alcaic and Sapphic stanzas, both of them forms about which it is difficult to make up one's mind:

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| *Sapphic.* | | |
| Iam satis ter | rīs | : nĭvĭs | atque dirae | *a + b + a* |
| Grandinis mi | sīt | : Pătēr, | et rubente | *a + b + a* |
| Dextera sa | crās | : iăcŭ | latus arces, | *a + b + a* |
| | Tērrŭĭt | urbem. | *b + a/2* |
| *Alcaic.* | | |
| Vides ut alta | stēt nĭvě cāndĭdŭm | *c + d* |
| Soracte, nec iam | sūstĭnēānt ŏnŭs | *c + d* |
| Silvae laboran | | { *c + c* |
| | antes, geluque | { overlapping |
| Flūmĭnă cōnstĭtĕ | | { *d + c* |
| | stiterint acuto. | { overlapping |

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where the masculine element, as it were (in the Sapphic – ◡ – –, in the Alcaic – – ◡ – –), balances the feminine (in the Sapphic one dactyl, in the Alcaic two). The *caesura*, shown in the Sapphic by the dotted line, and coinciding with the other division in the Alcaic, is at the corresponding place after the fifth syllable in the true Sanskrit form of *Upendravajra*,

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– – ◡ | – ⁝ ◡ ◡ | – ◡ – ◡

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and it is this clash between the formal and the free manner of reading it that gives it much of its charm.

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Meanwhile, Indians themselves scan the lines on a different plan. They have a useful *memoria technica*:

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Yă-mā-tā-rā-jă-bhā-nă-să-lă-gām.

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Taking these syllables in threes they arrive at names for all feet of three syllables composed of longs and shorts:

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The first syllable of each word is all that is generally used. The last two syllables of the line (not necessary for that purpose) represent the words *laghu* (short) and *guru* (long). Accordingly four more feet of two syllables can be named:

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and the line

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Nă-hēṇ năbhō-māndălă, vārīrāśī,

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is scanned

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Jăbhānă, Tārājă, Jăbhānă, Gāgā.

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or, for short,

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jajagau¹

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¹ *Gau* is the dual of *ga*. There is a similar *memoria technica* for the 2⁴ = 16 varieties of four-syllable feet, ◡ – – –, – – – –, &c., used in the *śloka* and elsewhere.

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There are many dozens of metres with fixed length of syllable like *Upendravajra*. Here are two or three more which are in common use:

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*Vasanta-tilaka*. 14 syllables. Caesura not given. (ta-bha-ja-ja-gala)

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◡ ◡ — — ◡ ◡ — ◡ — ◡ — —
Ha chandra ma ugavalā gaganā pradīpa
A - he - ta shukta, guru, mangala jya samipa
Tya cha prakāśa bharata gagano daranta
To andha kara lapala giriga - bharanta.

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(Cp. Ex. 280.)

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*Śikhariṇī*. 17 syllables. (ya-ma-na-sa-bha-laga)

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◡ — — — — ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡ — ◡ — ◡ — —
Bhalyacya sangenen avaguna ase toguna dise
Khalyacya sangenen suguna tari to lopata ase
Jaseṇ khareṇ pani piuni ganateṇ goḍa kariti
Phani dugdha teṇci piuni garala teṇci vamati.

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Metre, Śikhariṇī.

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◡ — — — — ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡ — ◡ — ◡ — —
1 A good man's our firm friend,
2 A bad man's our false friend,
3 For so clouds drink salt brine
4 And so snakes drink sweet milk,
◡ — — — — ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡ — ◡ — ◡ — —
1 and ev - 'ry lit - tle fault soon will be for - got;
2 and ev - 'ry bud - ding vir - tue will droop and die.
3 from ev - 'ry lit - tle wave-crest, and make it sweet;
4 and ev - 'ry drop be - comes poi - son at the last.

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Rāg Bhūp. Tāl Tevra. (3+2+2.)

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Ex. 306. Bha-lyā - chyā san - gā - neṇ . . . a-va-gu-ṇa a - se to . . . gu-ṇa di se. . . . Kha-lā - chyā san - gā - neṇ . . . su-gu-ṇa ta - ri to lo - - - - pa-ta a - se . . . Ja - seṇ khā-reṇ pā ṇī . . . pi-u - ni gha-na-teṇ go - -

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Musical notation with lyrics: ḍa ka-ri-tī. . . . Pha-ṇī du-gdhā-teṇ - hī. . . . pi-u-ni ga-ra-lā - teṇ - - - - chi va-ma-tī. . .

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*Śārdula-vikrīḍita*. 19 syllables.

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— — ◡ — ◡ ◡ — ◡ — — — ◡ — ◡ — ◡ — Doḷyaṇṇiṇ baghatoṇ dhvani parisatoṇ kaniṇ padoṇ calatoṇ Jivheneṇ rasa chakatoṇ madhura hi vace amhi bolatoṇ Ha taṇṇiṇ bahusala kama karitoṇ viśranti hi dhyāvaya Ghetoṇ jhompa sukheṇ phiromi uthatoṇ hi īśvara cadaya.

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Metre, Śārdula-vikrīḍita. — — ◡ — ◡ ◡ — ◡ — — — ◡ — ◡ — ◡ —
1. Ḍō - lyaṇ - ṇiṇ ba - gha - toṇ dhva - ni pa - ri - sa - toṇ Sweet these sounds in our ears, and sweet the ma - ny sights — — ◡ — ◡ ◡ — ◡ — — — ◡ — ◡ — ◡ —
1. ka - niṇ pa - doṇ ca - la - toṇ that greet our eyes voy - a - ging.

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**Ex. 307.** (Cp. Exs. 226, 253, 254.)

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Musical notation with lyrics: 1 & 2. Ḍō - lyaṇ - ṇiṇ . . ba-gha-tōṇ dhva-nī pa-ri-sa - Hā tāṇ - ṇiṇ . . ba-hu-sā - la kā - ma ka-ri -

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Musical notation with lyrics: 1. Sweet these sounds in . . our ears, and sweet the ma-ny

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Musical notation with lyrics: 2. Sweet these u - ses . . of hands and feet and ev'-ry

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Musical notation with lyrics: 1 & 2. - tōṇ kā - ṇiṇ pa - dōṇ . . chā - - - la - - tōṇ vi - shrāṇ - ti hī. . . dhyā - - va -

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Musical notation with lyrics: 1. sights that greet our . . . eyes voy - - - -

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Musical notation with lyrics: 2. limb, and sweet to lie . . . . . . down to

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1 & 2. (Musical notation)

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- tōn . . . Jī - vhe - neṇ . . . . . . .
- yā . . : Ghē - tōn - jhōm . . . . . . .

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1. (Musical notation)

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- - a-ging; Sweet this taste . . . . . . . . on the

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2. (Musical notation)

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rest . . . All these gifts . . . . . . . . are our

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1 & 2. (Musical notation)

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ra-sa chā - ka tōn . . . . . . . ma-dhu-ra - hī
- pa su-khēṇ phi - ro . . . . . . . mi u-tha tōn

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1. (Musical notation)

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tongue, and sweet . . . . . . . the rea-dy power . . .

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2. (Musical notation)

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own, and His . . . who, in our souls, dwells

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1 & 2. (Musical notation)

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vā chē - - - - - - am-hī bo - la - tōn. hī īś - - - - - - va-rā - chā - da - yā.

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1. (Musical notation)

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. . of so - - - ci-able col - - - lo-quy

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2. (Musical notation)

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. . im - - - - - - ma-nent, life - giv-ing.

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The characteristic of the other great class of Sanskrit metres, those measured by time-unit (*mātrāvṛtta*), lies in the principle of equivalence, that is, in the fact which we are familiar with in the hexameter, that two shorts take the time of one long. *Mātrā* means instant, or unit; what the Greeks called ‘Chronos prōtos’, the ‘first’ or smallest ‘duration’ from which you start reckoning. Each foot contains four mātrās, and its prosodial possibilities are:

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Proceleusmaticus ◡ ◡ ◡ ◡ Amphibrach ◡ — ◡ Dactyl — ◡ ◡ Anapaest ◡ ◡ — Spondee — —

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The general effect of the Āryā, which is the typical metre of this class, is much that of hexameters or elegiacs, though the details are very different.

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Poetry, then, bases the verse on the unit of (1) the syllable (akṣara¹), less or more fixed, and (2) the time-length (mātrā) treated as the basis of equivalent combinations. Music similarly has two clearly defined stages, when time was reckoned (1) by akṣara and (2) by mātrā.

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¹ Lit. ‘imperishable’, in the sense perhaps of the ‘irreducible minimum’; Sanskrit syllables are, of course, one consonant (simple or compound) plus one vowel (simple or diphthong). Cf. Aristot. Met. xiii. 1. 7, p. 1087 b, Basis hē syllabē. Aristoxenus knows nothing of the syllable as a unit of rhythm.

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Reckoning by akṣara, that is, by the number of notes in a period (parvan). The parvan, as we shall see in the chapter on the Sāman chant, is the amount that can be conveniently sung in a breath, and the akṣaras which fill it are there of two kinds—long (dīrgha) and short (hrasva)—and occasionally the long note is intensified or lengthened, or both of these, in which case it is called vṛddhā (increased). Secular music similarly starts from a long (guru) and a short (laghu) note, and adds on one side the prolate note (pluta) and on the other the quick note (druta, from dru, to run). The laghu is then taken as the unit (mātrā), and the four notes have relative value, thus:

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| O | Druta | ½ mātrā | ♪ |
| | | | |
| | Laghu | 1 mātrā | ♩ |
| S | Guru | 2 mātrās | d |
| 3 | Pluta | 3 mātrās | d. |

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To these is added the rest (virāma), which is the equivalent of the druta,² and is marked thus: 𝛿, and 𝛾. It does not occur with the guru (S) or the pluta (3).

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² Day says that its value was not definitely stated by his authority. It seems

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The Ratnākara gives 120 examples of such periods as may be formed by combinations of these four values, varying in length from one note to nineteen notes. Another authority gives 108. It is clear that this list is not meant to be exhaustive, for it does not reach a millionth part of the possibilities; and it is also clear that the four measurements of music (or five including the virāma) cannot directly represent the two dimensions (long and short) of poetry. So that not all of these can represent poetical metres (though some may) and that for others there must be some other explanation. A list of forty-two specimens is given in Day; but as that book is now scarce a few typical ones taken at haphazard are given here:

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| No. of syllables or notes. | Name. | Indian and European notations. |
| 1 | Ekatālī | O 𝅘𝅥𝅮 |
| 3 | Pratāp | 𝅘𝅥𝅮 O 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅗𝅥 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 |
| 5 | Rangapradīpakaḥ | 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅗𝅥 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅗𝅥 𝅗𝅥 𝅗𝅥 𝅗𝅥 𝅗𝅥. |
| 10 | Layaḥ | 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅗𝅥 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅗𝅥 𝅗𝅥 𝅗𝅥. 𝅗𝅥. 𝅗𝅥. 𝅗𝅥 𝅗𝅥. 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 |
| 19 | Miśravarnaḥ | O O O 𝅘𝅥𝅮 O O O O 𝅘𝅥𝅮 O O O O 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 S O O 𝅗𝅥 𝅗𝅥 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅗𝅥. 𝅗𝅥 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅘𝅥𝅮 𝅗𝅥 𝅗𝅥 |

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(An instance of 𝅘𝅥𝅮 is not included here because its value is not certain.)

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The names do not help us. They are often merely picturesque appellations. Where they have a recognizable meaning it is sometimes refuted by the accompanying signs; thus Jhampa tāla and Marnt tāla both occur, but the signs show them to be quite different from the modern Tāls of those names. Possibly the explanation, but it can only be a guess, may be that the longer tālas represent the rhythm of good recitation of well-known verses or mantras. It is clear that in our own poetry, for instance, longs and shorts do not represent to be defined in the Ratnākara where (adhy. 5 śl. 258) ‘a druta followed by a rest is a detached mātrā’ (i. e. laghu); though if this can be held to imply that the laghu followed by a rest is a detached guru the value of the rest is relative to that of the note which it follows.

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all the distinctions we make in good reading. When we read aloud:

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1. Of man's first disobedience, and the fruit
2. Of that forbidden tree, whose mortal taste
3. Brought death into the world and all our woes
4. With loss of Eden, till one greater man
5. Restore us and regain the blissful seats,
6. Sing heavenly Muse.

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our voice travels somewhat as follows:

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and such clusters of notes have a sort of family resemblance to those we are discussing.

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This may account for the longer groups given in our list, but not for the short ones; it may account for layaḥ, for instance, which is much like the cadence of a Sāman (or of one of our mediaeval hymns), but not for ekatāli. We will examine some of these shorter ones. The first five in the list given in the Ratnākara, and these alone, are named by the first five ordinal numbers—Adi, dvitīyaḥ, tṛtīyaḥ, caturthaḥ, pañcamaḥ—just as the notes of the Sāman chant were named prathamaḥ, dvitīyaḥ, tṛtīyaḥ, caturthaḥ. It is possible that they were felt to represent more fundamental distinctions than those tālas which have what we may call a fancy name. They are:

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| Name. | Indian symbol. | European symbol. |
| āditālaḥ | | ♩ |
| ¹ dvitīyaḥ | O O | ♩ ♩ ♩ |
| ¹ tṛtīyaḥ | O O 𝛿 | ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ |
| ¹ caturthaḥ | | ♩ ♩ ♩ ♩ |
| pañcamaḥ | O O | ♩ ♩ |

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¹ These are given differently by Day. But the Ratnākara is a good authority, and there is no doubt as to the meaning of the text.

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If the explanation of the longer groups as typical examples of recitation was correct, the time-values of the several notes may well have been somewhat indefinite; we do not feel in the example from Milton that the musical notes present our style of reading more than approximately, nor that we should invariably read it so. In reciting a whole sentence the structure of one word reacts imperceptibly on the pronunciation of the next and interferes with the time-value. But these short groups cannot be sentences; they can at most be single words, and there is every probability that they represent exact time-values. And in passing from those to these we may be passing from the Cola, Commata, Membra, Incisiones, Distinctiones, &c., of the tenth century in Europe to the Modi, Proprietates, Perfectiones, and so forth of the fourteenth—from music which regulated its time-values by the words, to music which evolved its own values.

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What makes these five groups interesting is that they offer a connecting link between the prosodial feet given on p. 196 (*ya-ma-ta-ra*, &c.) and some of the fundamental principles of Indian musical time. In the second, third, and fourth of them we have all the eight three-syllable feet. *Dvitīyaḥ* represents, according to the note you begin upon, three of them, ◡ ◡ —, ◡ — ◡, — ◡ ◡; *tṛtīyaḥ* two more, ◡ ◡ ◡ and — — —; and *caturthaḥ* the remaining three, — — ◡, — ◡ —, and ◡ — —. *Pañcamaḥ* similarly represents ◡ ◡ and — —; and, according as one or other note is dwelt upon, ◡ — or — ◡ also. That this is the true view is made more likely by the position of *pañcamaḥ* after the others; for the two-syllable feet follow the three-syllable in the *memoria technica*. *Aditālaḥ* is placed first, as much as to say ‘this *laghu* (crotchet) you are to take as your unit (*mātra*) throughout the list’. We see also the genesis of the rest (‘): for, stress-accent being foreign to this versification, there would, without it, be nothing in a series of *tṛtīyaḥ*s to mark that they were to be taken in sets of three. This is borne out also by the comparative rarity of genuine Hindu songs which are in three time (it is commoner with Mohammedan); what we should call 3/8 and 6/8 are not unknown, but they are not favourite rhythms.

c13.s2.105

But *caturthaḥ* introduces us suddenly to a five rhythm, instead of, as we should have expected, a three rhythm. It is interesting to see how this comes about. Since the earliest, and by far the most prevalent metre is the *śloka*, which primarily counted the syllables and only secondarily weighed them also, the number of syllables in a unity of any sort came to have a greater importance than we should naturally have attached to it. Hence, when only three syllables were taken together (leaving aside ◡ ◡ ◡ and — — — which we have already disposed of), the trisyllabic forms — ◡ ◡ and — — ◡, for instance (of four and five mātrās), seemed to be more nearly related to each other than the trisyllabic — ◡ ◡ and disyllabic — — (each of four mātrās). Similarly, it being possible to proceed from — ◡ ◡ (four mātrās) to — — ◡ (five mātrās) or to — ◡ (three mātrās), the former step which kept the number of syllables seemed more natural than the latter which changed it. This may give a hint as to the hitherto unexplained delight of the Greeks in five rhythm; but it would be going too far to assert that it is the origin of five rhythm in general; for this appears quite independently in places as remote, in more than a geographical sense, as Finland and the Malay Archipelago, and others.

c13.s2.106

Reckoning by mātrā, that is, by the time unit and its multiples, or the principle of ‘equivalence’, launches us into the domain of

Linked texts (2)

Saṅgītaratnākara — Śārṅgadeva, Sanskrit
Nāṭyaśāstra — Bharata, Sanskrit