An Outline of the Metres in the Pāḷi Canon
A concise but thorough explanation of the metres that are found in the Pāli canon, along with examples and glossary.
A concise but thorough explanation of the metres that are found in the Pāli canon, along with examples and glossary.
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<strong>An</strong> <strong>Outl<strong>in</strong>e</strong> <strong>of</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Metres</strong> <strong>in</strong> <strong>the</strong> <strong>Pāḷi</strong> <strong>Canon</strong> - 54<br />
mora = mattā = a measure<br />
musical metres<br />
refers to <strong>the</strong> mattāchandas and gaṇacchandas metres which have<br />
been derived under <strong>the</strong> <strong>in</strong>fluence <strong>of</strong> musical structures<br />
new metres<br />
refers to <strong>the</strong> mattāchandas, gaṇacchandas, and fixed vaṇṇacchandas<br />
metres<br />
niggahīta<br />
<strong>the</strong> pure nasal sound. Only occurs normally after a short vowel (i.e as<br />
aṁ, iṁ, & uṁ), but <strong>the</strong>n makes that syllable heavy metrically,<br />
sometimes also referred to as anusvara (<strong>the</strong> Sanskrit name for this<br />
sound), see 1.1 & 1.11<br />
odd l<strong>in</strong>e = prior l<strong>in</strong>e = <strong>the</strong> first l<strong>in</strong>e <strong>in</strong> a pādayuga<br />
Old Gīti (a.k.a. Old Āryā)<br />
<strong>the</strong> earliest form <strong>of</strong> gaṇacchandas metre 2.16<br />
Opacchandasaka (Aupacchandasaka) 2.10<br />
open<strong>in</strong>g<br />
<strong>the</strong> beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g section <strong>of</strong> a l<strong>in</strong>e, may be followed by a break and<br />
cadence as <strong>in</strong> Tuṭṭhubha and related metres, or simply by a cadence<br />
as <strong>in</strong> Siloka and <strong>the</strong> mattāchandas metres<br />
open syllable, see 1.1<br />
pāda<br />
a l<strong>in</strong>e <strong>of</strong> verse<br />
pādādigaru<br />
a light syllable that is counted as heavy (see brevis <strong>in</strong> longo) because<br />
it stands at <strong>the</strong> beg<strong>in</strong>n<strong>in</strong>g <strong>of</strong> a l<strong>in</strong>e (this is sometimes seen <strong>in</strong> early<br />
gaṇacchandas verses)
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