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Sanskrit prosody or Chandas refers to one of the six Vedangas, or limbs of Vedic studies.[1] It is the study of poetic metres and verse in Sanskrit.[1] This field of study was central to the composition of the Vedas, the scriptural canons of Hinduism; in fact, so central that some later Hindu and Buddhist texts refer to the Vedas as Chandas.[1][2]
The Chandas, as developed by the Vedic schools, were organized around seven major metres, each with its own rhythm, movements and aesthetics. Sanskrit metres include those based on a fixed number of syllables per verse, and those based on fixed number of morae per verse.[3]
Extant ancient manuals on Chandas include Pingala's Chandah Sutra, while an example of a medieval Sanskrit prosody manual is Kedara Bhatta's Vrittaratnakara.[4][note 1] The most exhaustive compilations of Sanskrit prosody describe over 600 metres.[7] This is a substantially larger repertoire than in any other metrical tradition.[8]
- ^ a b c James Lochtefeld (2002), "Chandas" in The Illustrated Encyclopedia of Hinduism, Vol. 1: A-M, Rosen Publishing, ISBN 0-8239-2287-1, page 140
- ^ Moriz Winternitz (1988). A History of Indian Literature: Buddhist literature and Jaina literature. Motilal Banarsidass. p. 577. ISBN 978-81-208-0265-0.
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Allan2013p228was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ Deo 2007, pp. 6-7 section 2.2.
- ^ Maurice Winternitz 1963, pp. 1–301, particularly 5-35.
- ^ HD Velankar (1949), Jayadāman (a collection of ancient texts on Sanskrit prosody and a classified list of Sanskrit metres with an alphabetical index), OCLC 174178314, Haritosha;
HD Velankar (1949), Prosodial practice of Sanskrit poets, Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, Volume 24-25, pages 49-92. - ^ Deo 2007, pp. 3, 6 section 2.2.
- ^ Deo 2007, pp. 3-4 section 1.3.
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