Pr̥thvī
Pattern
Description
The pr̥thvī is an atyaṣṭiḥ meter (with 17 syllables per quarter). According to the tradition of the Nāṭyaśāstram, it is called vilambitagatiḥ (“slow-moving”). It has an obligatory word-break (yatiḥ) after the eighth syllable in each line.
Definitions
Piṅgala, Chandaḥsūtram 7.17:
pr̥thvī jsau jsau ylaug vasunavakau
Nāṭyaśāstram 15.113–114:
dvitīyam antyaṁ ṣaṣṭhaṁ cāpyaṣṭamaṁ dvādaśaṁ tathā
caturdaśaṁ pañcadaśaṁ pādē saptadaśākṣarē
bhavanti yatra dīrghāṇi śēṣāṇi ca laghūny atha
vilambitagatiḥ sā tu vijñēyā nāmatō yathā
Nāṭyaśāstram 15.115:
yadā dviruditau hi pādam abhisaṁśritau jsau trikau
tathaiva ca punas tayōr nidhanam āśritō yō lagau
tadāṣṭiratipūrvikā yatir api svabhāvād yathā
vilambitagatis tadā nigaditā dvijair nāmataḥ
Ratnamañjūṣā 6.34:
pr̥thvī ṣīṣīrau
Jānāśrayī 4.87:
pr̥thvī klr̥j mśī
Jayadeva, Chandaḥśāstram 7.14:
vasugrahayutā jasau jasayalāś ca pr̥thvī guruḥ
Ratnākaraśānti, Chandōratnākaraḥ 2.62:
jasalvanararā vasugrahayatis tu pr̥thvī matā
Jayakīrti, Chandōnuśāsanam 2.212:
jasau jasayalā guru vasuyatiś ca pr̥thvī matā
Kedārabhaṭṭa, Vr̥ttaratnākaraḥ 3.88:
jasau jasayalā vasugrahayatiś ca pr̥thvī guruḥ
Hemacandra, Chandōnuśāsanam 2.287:
jsajasyalgāḥ pr̥thvī
Examples
Rasagaṅgādharaḥ 1.1
This example was recited by H. V. Nagaraja Rao and recorded by Gil Ben-Herut in 2006. Translated by me.
Even when she is merely remembered
she carries off men’s fresh pain
with her compassion.
She is encircled by hundreds of streaks
of lightning whose slender brilliance
never fades away.
She hangs around the heavenly trees
on the bank of the Yamunā river.
May she, a line of clouds unlike any other,
alight upon my mind.
Anargharāghavam 4.4
This example was recited by H. V. Nagaraja Rao and recorded by Gil Ben-Herut in 2006. Translated by me.
Here he is, a jester to amuse the stands
of soft lotuses, the lord of brilliance,
glowing. And now, just becoming visible,
the floral decorations made with saffron powder
thrill the breasts of lotus-eyed women —
transplanted in reverse onto the chests of their lovers.