Shloka

<h2 id="metrical-pattern">Metrical pattern</h2>
Each 16-syllable <a href="/facts/Hemistich/6ocW0z3l">hemistich</a> (half-verse), 
of two 8-syllable <a href="/facts/Pada_(foot)/c6vUsA0A">pādas</a>, can take either a pathyā ("normal") form or one of several vipulā ("extended") forms. The form of the second <a href="/facts/Foot_(prosody)/bJmBpspy">foot</a> of the first <a href="/facts/Pada_(foot)/c6vUsA0A">pāda</a> (II.) limits the possible patterns the first foot (I.) may assume.
The scheme below, given by Macdonell, shows his understanding of the form of the śloka in the classical period of Sanskrit literature (4th–11th centuries CE):
In poems of the intermediate period, such as the <a href="/facts/Bhagavad_Gita/hMnHVqcD">Bhagavad Gita</a>, a fourth vipulā is found. This occurs 28 times in the Bhagavad Gita, that is, as often as the third vipulā.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:16" href="#fn:16">16</a> When this vipulā is used, there is a word-break (caesura) after the fourth syllable:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:17" href="#fn:17">17</a>

|  u  u  u  –,  |  –  u  –  u  ||
Two rules that always apply are:<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:18" href="#fn:18">18</a>

1. In both pādas, in syllables 2–3, u u is not allowed.
2. In the second pāda, in syllables 2–4, – u – is not allowed
The pathyā and vipulā half-verses are arranged in the table above in order of frequency of occurrence. Out of 2579 half-verses taken from <a href="/facts/Kalidasa/qJhkrcMj">Kalidasa</a>, <a href="/facts/Bharavi/Fa7ItzUH">Bharavi</a>, <a href="/facts/Magha_(poet)/CeGo2dfB">Magha</a>, and <a href="/facts/Bilhana/CjlQ2QmQ">Bilhana</a>, each of the four admissible forms of śloka in this order claims the following share: 2289, 116, 89, 85;<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:19" href="#fn:19">19</a> that is, 89% of the half-verses have the regular pathyā form.
The various vipulās, in the order above, are known to scholars writing in English as the first, second, third and fourth vipulā,<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:20" href="#fn:20">20</a> or the <a href="/facts/Paeon_(prosody)/HNwCbBLI">paeanic</a>, <a href="/facts/Choriamb/BvBW84qp">choriambic</a>, <a href="/facts/Molossus_(poetry)/ppa2Hevk">molossic</a>, and <a href="/facts/Trochee/LbnWzIY6">trochaic</a> vipulā respectively.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:21" href="#fn:21">21</a> In Sanskrit writers, they are referred to as the na-, bha-, ma-, and ra-vipulā.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:22" href="#fn:22">22</a> A fifth vipulā, known as the minor Ionic, in which the first pāda ends | u u – x |, is sometimes found in the Mahābhārata, although rarely.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:23" href="#fn:23">23</a>
Macdonell's chart given above is in fact too restrictive with regard the first four syllables in a vipulā verse. For example, the first quarter verse of the Rāmayaṇa (critical edition) contains a na-vipulā and scans ⏑ – – – ⏑ ⏑ ⏑ – (tapaḥsvādhyāyanirataṃ). Other examples are easy to find among classical poets, e.g., Rāmacarita 1.76 manyur dehāvadhir ayaṃ – – – – ⏑ ⏑ ⏑ –. In the ma-vipulā, a caesura is not obligatory after the fifth syllable, e.g., Śiśupālavadha 2.1a yiyakṣamāṇenāhūtaḥ ⏑ – ⏑ – – – – –.
Noteworthy is the avoidance of an iambic cadence in the first pāda. By comparison, syllables 5–8 of any pāda in the old Vedic <a href="/facts/Anu%25E1%25B9%25A3%25E1%25B9%25ADubh/Jh3pjLhr">anuṣṭubh</a> metre typically had the iambic ending u – u x (where "x" represents an <a href="/facts/Anceps/9RCpr7ET">anceps</a> syllable).
Statistical studies examining the frequency of the vipulās and the patterns in the earlier part of the pāda have been carried out to try to establish the preferences of various authors for different metrical patterns. It is believed that this may help to establish relative dates for the poems, and to identify interpolated passages.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:24" href="#fn:24">24</a><a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:25" href="#fn:25">25</a>

<h2 id="examples">Examples</h2>
A typical śloka is the following, which opens the <a href="/facts/Bhagavad_Gita/hMnHVqcD">Bhagavad Gita</a>:

dharma-kṣetre kuru-kṣetre
samavetā yuyutsavaḥ
māmakāḥ pāṇḍavāś caiva
kim akurvata sañjaya
| – – – – | u – – – |
| u u – – | u – u – ||
| – u – – | u – – u |
| u u – u | u – u u ||
"(<a href="/facts/Dhritarashtra/SkBYL714">Dhṛtaraṣṭra</a> said:) In the place of righteousness, at <a href="/facts/Kurukshetra/d2RcCIaw">Kurukṣetra</a>,
gathered together and desiring battle,
my sons and the sons of Pandu,
what did they do, Sanjaya?"
From the period of high classical Sanskrit literature comes this benediction, which opens <a href="/facts/B%25C4%2581%25E1%25B9%2587abha%25E1%25B9%25AD%25E1%25B9%25ADa/yK9o4Duu">Bāṇabhaṭṭa</a>'s biographical poem <a href="/facts/Harshacharita/YCFmqm8a">Harṣacaritam</a> (7th century CE):

namas-tuṅga-śiraś-cumbi- candra-cāmara-cārave /
trailokya-nagarārambha- mūla-stambhāya śambhave //
| u – – u | u – – u | – u – u | u – u – ||
| – – u u | u – – u | – – – – | u – u – ||
"Praise be to Śambhu, beautified by the <a href="/facts/Fly-whisk/oGJe9Tvc">chowrie</a> moon touching his lofty head;
like a foundation pillar of a city that is the universe."<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:26" href="#fn:26">26</a>
When a śloka is recited, performers sometimes leave a pause after each pāda, at other times only after the second pāda. (See External links.)

<h2 id="difference-between-shloka-and-mantra">Difference between shloka and mantra</h2>
See also: <a href="/facts/Mantra/V8bEogFp">mantra</a>
A Shloka has to be composed in a specific metre (chhanda), with a specific number of lines with a specific number of words per line, each word could be a mantra. For example, viṣṇu sahastranāma is in anuṣṭup chhanda (two lines of four words each).
A mantra, on the other hand, is prefixed by omkara (primordial sound) and suffixed by the essential nama (name) and the salutary word nama (salutation) between the prefix and the suffix. No metre is prescribed. The lyrics in any Vārnic or matric metres are shlokas, but stanzas from Vedic hymns are not shloka, despite it being a common mistake to think this.<a class="footnote-ref" id="fnref:27" href="#fn:27">27</a>

<h2 id="see-also">See also</h2>
<ul><li><a href="/facts/Sanskrit_prosody/6Wjo0MEA">Sanskrit prosody</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Subhashita/QKUtbxlc">Subhashita</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Vedic_metre/YSEF4p10">Vedic metre</a></li>
<li><a href="/facts/Anustubh/Jh3pjLhr">Anustubh</a></li></ul>

<h3>Bibliography</h3>
<ul><li>Arnold, Edward Vernon (1905). <a href="https://archive.org/stream/vedicmetreinitsh00arnouoft#page/viii/mode/2up">Vedic Metre in its historical development</a>. Cambridge University Press (Reprint 2009). <a href="/facts/ISBN_(identifier)/15AdSPa9">ISBN</a> 978-1113224446. {{cite book}}: ISBN / Date incompatibility (help)</li>
<li>Brockington, John (1998). <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=HR-_LK5kl18C&pg=PR5">The Sanskrit Epics</a>. Brill.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Charles_Philip_Brown/BT0IIhuu">Brown, Charles Philip</a> (1869). <a href="https://archive.org/details/sanskritprosody00browgoog">Sanskrit prosody and numerical symbols explained</a>. London: Trübner & Co.</li>
<li>Colebrooke, H.T. (1873). "On Sanskrit and Prakrit Poetry". Miscellaneous Essays. Vol. 2. London: Trübner and Co. pp. 57–146.</li>
<li>Coulson, Michael (1976). Teach Yourself Sanskrit. Teach Yourself Books. Hodder and Stoughton.</li>
<li>D'Avella, Victor B. (2019) <a href="https://www.academia.edu/40126201/Notes_on_the_Sanskrit_%C5%9Aloka_">"Notes on the Sanskrit Śloka"</a>. (Introduction to Alaṅkāraśāstra Sommersemester 2019.)</li>
<li>Keith, A. Berriedale (1928). <a href="https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.23671/page/n5">A History of Sanskrit Literature</a>. (Oxford University Press).</li>
<li>Hopkins, E.W. (1901). "Epic versification". The Great Epic of India. New York: C. Scribner's Sons.</li>
<li><a href="/facts/Max_Muller/huQekMHa">Müller, Friedrich Max</a>; <a href="/facts/Arthur_Anthony_Macdonell/VMfTIonF">Arthur Anthony Macdonell</a> (1886). <a href="https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.382597">A Sanskrit grammar for beginners</a> (2 ed.). Longmans, Green. p. <a href="https://archive.org/details/in.ernet.dli.2015.382597/page/n196">178</a>. <a href="https://web.archive.org/web/20110722135736/http://www.buddhanet-de.net/ancient-buddhist-texts/Textual-Studies/Prosody-Articles/Macdonell-Sanskrit.pdf">PDF</a></li>
<li>Murthy, G. S. S. (2003). <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/41694750">"Characterizing Classical Anuṣṭup: A Study in Sanskrit Prosody"</a>. Annals of the Bhandarkar Oriental Research Institute, Vol. 84 (2003), pp. 101–115. (On JSTOR)</li>
<li>Sharma, Arvind (2000). <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24663308">"Of Śūdras, Sūtas, and Ślokas: Why is the Mahābhārata preeminently in the Anuṣṭubh Metre?"</a>. Indo-Iranian Journal, Vol. 43, No. 3 (2000), pp. 225–278.</li>
<li>Wilson, Horace Hayman (1841). <a href="https://archive.org/details/introductiontogr00wilsuoft">An introduction to the grammar of the Sanskrit language</a>. Madden.</li></ul>
<h2 id="external-links">External links</h2>
<ul><li>Michael Hahn: <a href="https://www.academia.edu/6353023/Michael_Hahn_A_brief_introduction_into_the_Indian_metrical_system_for_the_use_of_students_">"A brief introduction into the Indian metrical system for the use of students"</a> (pdf)</li>
<li><a href="http://learnsanskrit.org/prosody">Introduction to Sanskrit prosody</a> LearnSanskrit.Org</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nraSfax0h_c">Chanting of opening of Bhagavad Gita</a> (starts at 0:46).</li>
<li><a href="https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bnsA9XWBXPI">3 ślokas read by Dr R. Ganesh</a> (including the one from Harṣacaritam)</li></ul>

<h2 id="references">References</h2>

<ol>
<li id="fn:1">Sanskrit Slokas With Meaning in Hindi <a href="https://www.motivatorindia.in/2019/12/sanskrit-slokas-with-meaning-hindi.html" target="_blank">https://www.motivatorindia.in/2019/12/sanskrit-slokas-with-meaning-hindi.html</a> <a href="#fnref:1" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:2">Macdonell, Arthur A., A Sanskrit Grammar for Students, Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927). <a href="#fnref:2" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:3">Monier Monier-Williams (1923). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. pp. 1029–1030. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=_3NWAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1029" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=_3NWAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1029</a> <a href="#fnref:3" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:4">For other definitions see: "श्लोक (zloka) - KST (Online Sanskrit Dictionary)". kosha.sanskrit.today. Retrieved 2023-04-23. <a href="https://kosha.sanskrit.today/word/sa/%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%95?q=%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%95&scope=kosha" target="_blank">https://kosha.sanskrit.today/word/sa/%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%95?q=%E0%A4%B6%E0%A5%8D%E0%A4%B2%E0%A5%8B%E0%A4%95&scope=kosha</a> <a href="#fnref:4" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:5">W. J. Johnson (2010), Oxford Dictionary of Hinduism. <a href="#fnref:5" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:6">Macdonell, Arthur A., A Sanskrit Grammar for Students, Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927). <a href="#fnref:6" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:7">Macdonell, Arthur A., A Sanskrit Grammar for Students, Appendix II, p. 232 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927). <a href="#fnref:7" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:8">Arnold 1905, p. 11, 50 with note ii(a). - Arnold, Edward Vernon (1905). Vedic Metre in its historical development. Cambridge University Press (Reprint 2009). ISBN 978-1113224446. <a href="https://archive.org/stream/vedicmetreinitsh00arnouoft#page/viii/mode/2up" target="_blank">https://archive.org/stream/vedicmetreinitsh00arnouoft#page/viii/mode/2up</a> <a href="#fnref:8" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:9">Friedrich Max Müller (1860). A History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature. Williams and Norgate. pp. 67–70. <a href="https://archive.org/details/historyofancient00mlle" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/historyofancient00mlle</a> <a href="#fnref:9" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:10">Vishwakarma, Richa; Goswami, PradipKumar (2013). "A review through Charaka Uttara-Tantra". AYU. 34 (1): 17–20. doi:10.4103/0974-8520.115438. PMC 3764873. PMID 24049400. <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3764873" target="_blank">https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3764873</a> <a href="#fnref:10" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:11">Hopkins 1901, p. 192. - Hopkins, E.W. (1901). "Epic versification". The Great Epic of India. New York: C. Scribner's Sons. <a href="#fnref:11" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:12">Kireet Joshi (1991). The Veda and Indian Culture: An Introductory Essay. Motilal Banarsidass. pp. 101–102. ISBN 978-81-208-0889-8. <a href="978-81-208-0889-8" target="_blank">978-81-208-0889-8</a> <a href="#fnref:12" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:13">Friedrich Max Müller (1860). A History of Ancient Sanskrit Literature. Williams and Norgate. pp. 67–70. <a href="https://archive.org/details/historyofancient00mlle" target="_blank">https://archive.org/details/historyofancient00mlle</a> <a href="#fnref:13" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:14">Monier Monier-Williams (1923). A Sanskrit-English Dictionary. Oxford University Press. pp. 1029–1030. <a href="https://books.google.com/books?id=_3NWAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1029" target="_blank">https://books.google.com/books?id=_3NWAAAAcAAJ&pg=PA1029</a> <a href="#fnref:14" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:15">Vyas, Jaldhar H. (2004-03-10). "[Advaita-l] Difference bet. slokas and Mantras". Retrieved 2020-01-19. <a href="https://www.advaita-vedanta.org//archives/advaita-l/2004-March/012774.html" target="_blank">https://www.advaita-vedanta.org//archives/advaita-l/2004-March/012774.html</a> <a href="#fnref:15" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:16">Morton Smith, R. (1961). Ślokas and Vipulas. Indo-Iranian Journal Vol. 5, No. 1 (1961), pp. 19-35. <a href="https://www.jstor.org/stable/24646839" target="_blank">https://www.jstor.org/stable/24646839</a> <a href="#fnref:16" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:17">Michael Hahn: "A brief introduction into the Indian metrical system for the use of students". <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hahn" target="_blank">https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hahn</a> <a href="#fnref:17" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:18">Michael Hahn: "A brief introduction into the Indian metrical system for the use of students". <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hahn" target="_blank">https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hahn</a> <a href="#fnref:18" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:19">Macdonell, Arthur A., A Sanskrit Grammar for Students, Appendix II, p. 233 (Oxford University Press, 3rd edition, 1927) <a href="#fnref:19" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:20">Keith (1920), p. 421. <a href="#fnref:20" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:21">Morton Smith (1961), p. 19. <a href="#fnref:21" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:22">Michael Hahn: "A brief introduction into the Indian metrical system for the use of students". <a href="https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hahn" target="_blank">https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Michael_Hahn</a> <a href="#fnref:22" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:23">Hopkins, p. 222. <a href="#fnref:23" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:24">Morton Smith (1961). <a href="#fnref:24" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:25">Brockington (1998), pp. 117–130. <a href="#fnref:25" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:26">Translation from Daniel H. Ingalls (translator) (1965): Sanskrit Poetry, from Vidyākara's Treasury. (Harvard). <a href="#fnref:26" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
<li id="fn:27">Yelle, Robert A. (2004-03-01). Explaining Mantras. doi:10.4324/9780203483381. ISBN 9780203483381. <a href="9780203483381" target="_blank">9780203483381</a> <a href="#fnref:27" class="footnote-back-ref">↩</a></li>
</ol>

Shloka open-in-new

Shloka