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Notes on Short (laghu) and Long (guru) Syllables in Sanskrit Metres

Upali Sraman

Introduction

The laghu-guru dichotomy is concerned with the identification and subtle differences in the use

of short or light (laghu) and long or heavy (guru) syllables (akṣara) and syllabic instants (mātrā)

in Sanskrit prosody. Syllables and syllabic instants are the most fundamental components – that

one must have a very clear knowledge about – in order to understand the Classical Sanskrit

prosody. In fact, as long as one is unaware of these subtle differences one would not be able to

read a Sanskrit verse accurately. In the following paragraphs, I briefly introduce syllables and

syllabic instants and how to identify short and long syllables and syllabic instants in Sanskrit

prosody.

Syllables (akṣara) and Syllabic Instants (mātrā)

The words used for syllables and syllabic instants in Sanskrit are akṣara and mātrā respectively.

An akṣara is generally represented by a single sound created by the pronunciation of vowels.

There are 13 vowels in Sanskrit alphabets and hence 13 akṣara-s. They are categorized into two

groups – short or light (laghu) and long or heavy (guru). The laghu vowels are five – a, i, u, ṛ,

and ḷ. The guru vowels are eight – ā, ῑ, ū, ṝ, e, ai, o, and au.

Mātrā (syllabic instant) is a metrical unit, also known as mora or a prosodial instant, representing

the duration of time needed to pronounce a sound. A short vowel contains one mātrā, a long

vowel two mātrā-s and a prolated vowel 3. A hanging consonant in a word too is recognized as a

mātrā or syllabic instant. Therefore, there are as many syllabic instants as there are letters. In the

following paragraph, we shall see how these akṣara-s and mātrā-s form laghu-guru distinctions

and their roles in Sanskrit prosody.

Distinction between laghu and guru

As mentioned above, a laghu syllable is represented by one short vowel; and a long vowel makes

a guru syllable. The most possible occurrence of a laghu syllable (akṣara) is when it is used after

a consonant (e.g. vi, pra, etc.). In other positions of a short vowel with consonants, it is

considered as guru. Possible occurrences of guru are shown below.

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1. Long vowel followed by consonant (e.g. āc) is long (guru).

2. Consonant followed by hanging consonant (e.g. cāk or cakk) is long (guru).

3. Consonant followed by long vowel (e, g. cā) is long (guru).

4. Any consonant or vowel followed by ṁ/ḥ (e.g. aḥ or aṁ) is long (guru).

5. Consonant followed by diphthong also long.

6. Final last vowel is considered to be long.

In Sanskrit a guru, akṣara or mātrā is represented by a straight line (sarala rekhā – or l). A laghu

akṣara or mātrā is represented by a narrow or crooked line (vakra rekhā 9 or S). Any sentence in

a Sanskrit verse can be broken into laghu and guru according to the directions given above. A

smallest group, formed by three syllables, is known as a gaṇa (a trysyllabic group). Sanskrit

prosodists have made a list of eight groups showing all the possible ways that syllables can be

used. As to their order, there is no fixed method of arrangement. Different prosodists explain

them in different methods for the convenience of committing them into memory with ease.

Piṅgala, one of the ancient Sanskrit prosodists, has organized the gaṇa-s in the following

compound – ya-mā-tā-rā-ja-bhā-na-sa-lagā. Here, the syllables of each gaṇa can be understood

by taking anyone of them with the succeding two (e.g. yamātā = 9 , – , – for ya-gaṇa and mātārā

= – , – , – for ma-gaṇa). The following is a prominent verse explaining the placement of laghu

and guru in the eight gaṇas.

ādimadhyāvasanesu yaratāyāṁti lāghavam

bhajasāgauravam yāṁti manau tu guru lāghavam

Accordingly, the gaṇas – ya, ra, and ta have laghu syllable at the beginning, middle, and end

respectively; the remaining two are guru. But, the gaṇa-s bha, ja, and sa, have guru syllable at the

beginning, middle, and end respectively; the remaining two are laghu. The ma-gaṇa has all three

guru and na gaṇa has all three laghu. The eight gaṇa-s are illustrated below with the laghu and guru

symbols and their Greek names.

Gaṇa-s in Sanskrit sign sign sign Greek Names

ya 9͝ _ _ Bacchius

ra _ 9͝ _ Amphimacer

ta _ _ 9͝ Anti-bacchius

bha _ 9͝ 9͝ Dactylus

ja 9͝ _ 9͝ Amphibracchius

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sa 9͝ 9͝ _ Anapoestus

ma _ _ _ Moloesus

na 9͝ 9͝ 9͝ Tribachys

Conclusion

The above paragraphs explain the distinction between laghu and guru, and how they contribute

in the formation of gaṇa-s. Here, I make some general remarks on their role in the broader field

of Sanskrit prosody. The syllables and gaṇa-s help in understanding the Sanskrit metres, of

which more than six hundred are available. Metres formed by these gaṇa-s are grouped into two

types - jāti and vṛtta. The jāti metres are counted based on mātrā-s. Therefore, jāti metres are also

known as mātrācchandas or Moric metres. Of the moric metres, ārya is the most prominent.

According to Amulyadhan Mukherjee, they “are not to be found in epics. There are sporadic

verses in some recensions of the Mahābhārata in which a few of these metres are used, but such

verses are undoubtedly later interpolations.” “These moric metres are of non-Aryan origin

though at a particular stage they affected some of the traditional Sanskrit metres, and later on

infiltrated into Sanskrit prosody.” (pp.94-95). The Vṛtta metres are counted based on gaṇa-s.

Historically, two stages of Vṛtta-metres are recognized – the akṣaravṛtta (representing the early

Vedic and epic metres based on syllable count “with relative freedom in the distribution of light

and heavy syllables” Sanskrit Prosody in Wikipedia) and varṇavṛtta (representing the classical

Sanskrit metres “based on syllable count, but the light-heavy patterns are fixed” Sanskrit Prosody

in Wikipedia). The Vṛtta metres are threefold Samavṛtta (where all the four pāda-s are written in

a common metre), ardhasama (where first and third pāda or feet are in one metre and the second

and fourth in another metre) and the visama (where there is no regular pattern). The Sama and

ardhasama metres can have a finite number, but the visama is “almost infinite” (Apte, p.1035).

Works Consulted

1. Apte, V.S. “Sanskrit Prosody”, Appendix I pp.1035-1042, in Practical Sanskrit-English

Dictionary.

2. Amulyadhan Mukherjee (1976), Sanskrit Prosody: Its Evolution, Calcutta.

3. Vṛttaratnākara the Sanskrit Text with the Ratnāprabhāṭῑkā

4. Classical Sanskrit Prosody in Wikipedia the free Encyclopedia

5. Class notes and Discussions with Mr. Rohana Seneviratne.

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6. Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Digital Version.