Mandakranta metre
is the name of a metre commonly used in classical Sanskrit poetry. The name in Sanskrit means "slow-stepping" or "slowly advancing". It is said to have been invented by India's most famous poet Kālidāsa,, who used it in his well-known poem . The metre characterises the longing of lovers who are separated from each other, expressed in the Sanskrit word विरह "separation, parting".
Metrical pattern
Modern analysis
A line in has 17 syllables, divided into three sections, each separated by a pause. The first section consists of four long syllables, the second of 5 short syllables and one long, and the third a mixture of long and short alternating, in this pattern:As with other Sanskrit metres, the length of the final syllable is indifferent.
Deo argues that the metre is basically trochaic. She notes that where the third strong beat should come, some performers traditionally leave a pause equivalent to one short syllable; the third strong beat is then silent, and the fourth strong beat then falls on the fourth short syllable. Deo argues that this rhythm is also trochaic, with a strong beat on the 1st, 4th, and 7th syllables.
Relationship to other metres
The final section of 7 syllables is also found at the end of other metres such as,,,, and. The metre, a variety of, goes as follows:It thus consists of the beginning and end of the without the central section.
The 21-syllable metre goes as follows:
This is the same as the except for an additional four syllables. It has been argued that both and are later expansions of the earlier, which occurs occasionally even in the Vedas mixed with other varieties of.
If compared with the traditional ślōka metre, the can be seen to be similar. For example, the first line of the Bhagavad Gita scans as follows:
whereas the metre is as follows:
The differences are as follows:
- The ślōka can have many variations but in the every verse is the same.
- The break after the first quarter is obligatory in, but optional in a.
- The second quarter has resolutions, i.e. u uu uu – instead of u – – –.
- The fourth quarter of the line is catalectic, i.e. u – – instead of u – u –.
- In a two lines make a stanza, but in there are four lines in a stanza.
Traditional scansion
The traditional Indian method of analysing metre is to use three-syllable patterns known as, which are algebraically represented by letters of the alphabet. So, the 11th/12th century metrician Kedārabhaṭṭa in his work characterised the metre by the following mnemonic line, which is itself in the metre:The meaning of this line is that the metre has a pause after four syllables, then after six, and can be described using the s ma bha na ta ta followed by two long syllables, known as, that is: