Arya metre

Āryā meter is a meter used in Sanskrit and Prakrit verses. A verse in āryā metre is in four metrical feet called pādas. Unlike the majority of meters employed in classical Sanskrit, the āryā meter is based on the number of mātrās (morae) per pāda. A syllable containing a short vowel counts for one mātrā, and a syllable containing a long vowel or a short vowel followed by two consonants counts for two mātrās. It is believed that arya meter was taken from the gatha meter of Prakrit. ^[1] Arya metre is common in Jain Prakrit texts and hence considered as favourite metre of early authors of Jainism. The earlier form of the arya metre is called old gati, which occurs in a some very early Prakrit and Pàli texts.^[2]

Varieties

Āryā

The basic āryā verse has 12 mātrās in the first and third pāda, 18 in the second, and 15 in the fourth pāda.

Gīti

The gīti meter has 12 mātrās in the first and third pāda, and 18 in the second and fourth pāda.

Upagīti

The upagīti meter has 12 mātrās in the first and third pāda, and 15 in the second and fourth pāda.

Udgīti

The udgīti meter has 12 mātrās in the first and third pāda, and 15 in the second and 18 fourth pāda.

Āryāgīti

The āryāgīti meter has 12 mātrās in the first and third pāda, and 20 in the second and fourth pāda.

References

1. ^ Garg, Ganga Ram (1992). Encyclopaedia of the Hindu World. Concept Publishing Company. ISBN 8170223733.  p. 653
2. ^ Prof. K.R. Norman. "The origins of the àryà metre". http://www.ancient-buddhist-texts.net/Textual-Studies/Prosody-Articles/Norman-Arya-Text.htm. Retrieved 2009-11-11. 

See also

• Jain Prakrit
• Vedic meter
• Jain Agamas