Sanskrit metre and line breaks

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Dear list members,

 

A Sanskrit text I'm looking at is written in anuSTubh metre. A devanagari

printed edition from the 1920's of this text prints each pada on a separate

line so that each verse takes 4 lines. Because each pada is on a separate

line an english style continuation dash is required quite often between the

1st and 2nd padas or between the 3rd and 4th padas. Two much later editions

of this same text print the verses in two lines each a half verse of 16

syllables thus avoiding the need for any continuation dashes.

 

Is it pretty much standard practice nowadays in devanagari editions to print

anuSTubh metre verses in two lines instead of four?

 

In recitation of anuSTubh metre is there a slight pause at the end of the

1st and 3rd padas or only at the end of the 2nd pada?

 

Many thanks,

 

Harry Spier

371 Brickman Rd.

Hurleyville, New York

USA 12747

 

 

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[Guest guest]

In the normal recitation of the AnuSTubh metre, there is no pause

after the 1st and the 3rd foot. The pauses (avasAnas in Vedic terms)

come only after the second the fourth feet. This is validated by the

fact of such two feet units being treated as continuous units for

determining the prosodic accents of the Vedic hymns. In classical

AnuSTubh, one sees compounds going across the joint of the 1st and the

2nd foot, but not across the joint of the 2nd and the 3rd foot. As

the length of the metrical feet increases in classical literature, the

frequency of compounds going across the joint of the 1st and the 2nd

foot diminishes, indicating that there is perhaps an emerging pause

after each foot. Breaking the AnuSTubh after each foot is often done

while teaching students and has been observed in, for instance, the

Gita recitation by students of the Chinmaya Mission. I suppose this

practice is simply an attempt to simplify the recitation of the

Sanskrit text. Often I have observed dissolution of Sandhis in such

simplified modes of recitation. But they do not reflect the classical

practice. Best,

 

Madhav Deshpande

INDOLOGY, "Harry Spier" <harryspier@H...> wrote:

> Dear list members,

>

> A Sanskrit text I'm looking at is written in anuSTubh metre. A

devanagari

> printed edition from the 1920's of this text prints each pada on a

separate

> line so that each verse takes 4 lines. Because each pada is on a

separate

> line an english style continuation dash is required quite often

between the

> 1st and 2nd padas or between the 3rd and 4th padas. Two much later

editions

> of this same text print the verses in two lines each a half verse of

16

> syllables thus avoiding the need for any continuation dashes.

>

> Is it pretty much standard practice nowadays in devanagari editions

to print

> anuSTubh metre verses in two lines instead of four?

>

> In recitation of anuSTubh metre is there a slight pause at the end

of the

> 1st and 3rd padas or only at the end of the 2nd pada?

>

> Many thanks,

>

> Harry Spier

> 371 Brickman Rd.

> Hurleyville, New York

> USA 12747

>

>

> _______________

> Get your FREE download of MSN Explorer at

http://explorer.msn.com/intl.asp