Shloka 35

Nāmāṣṭottara-dviśata: Gaṇa–Chandas–Yati Catalogue and Mnemonic Coding

Devanagari script

वृत्तं रजौ रजौ पादे रजौ गो लः कृतिर्भवेत् / त्रिसप्तकैः स्नग्धरा स्यात्प्रकृतिर्म्नभनैस्त्रियैः

Transliteration

vṛttaṃ rajau rajau pāde rajau go laḥ kṛtirbhavet / trisaptakaiḥ snagdharā syātprakṛtirmnabhanaistriyaiḥ

Translation

في هذا النسق العروضي، إذا كانت الغَنات (gaṇa) في كل رُبع «را-جا-أو، را-جا-أو»، ثم «را-جا-أو» مرة أخرى (يتبعها «غو» و«لا»)، سُمِّي البحر «كْرِتي» (Kṛti). وإذا وُجدت ثلاث مجموعات من سبع (مقاطع)، صار «سْنَغْدَهَرا» (Snagdharā)؛ وتقوم طبيعته الأصلية (prakṛti) على تكرار السلسلة «ما-نا-بها-نا» ثلاث مرات.

Word by Word

वृत्तम्metre-pattern (vṛtta)

रजौin/at ‘ra’ (gaṇa-marker)

पादेin the pāda (quarter-verse)

रजौin/at ‘ra’ (gaṇa-marker)

गो‘ga’ (gaṇa-marker)

लः‘la’ (marker)

कृतिःKṛti (name of a metre)

भवेत्would be / is (to be)

त्रिसप्तकैःby the three sevens (i.e., 21)

स्नग्धराSnagdharā (name of a metre)

स्यात्would be / may be

प्रकृतिःPrakṛti (name of a metre)

म्नभनैःby the gaṇa-markers ‘mna’ and ‘bhana’

त्रियैःby three (sets)

Speaker

Sūta/Teacher-narrator (prosody instruction within Garuḍa Purāṇa’s Ācāra material; framed in the Garuḍa–Viṣṇu dialogue tradition)

Philosophical Teaching

Concept: Chandas-śāstra as disciplined knowledge: precise gaṇa-patterns define metre and its prakṛti (underlying template).

Vedantic Theme: Vidya as niyama (ordered knowledge) supporting śāstra-pramāṇa and clarity of speech (vāk-śuddhi).

Application: Use the gaṇa mnemonics to scan/compose verses correctly; treat prakṛti as the base pattern for identifying variants.

Verse Rasa

Primary Rasa: shanta

Secondary Rasa: adbhuta

Cross References

Related Themes: Garuda Purana 1.209 (Chandas/gaṇa-nirūpaṇa context): surrounding verses listing metres by gaṇa codes; Pingala Chandaḥśāstra: gaṇa system (ma-ya-ra-sa-ta-ja-bha-na) and metre-identification by gaṇa strings

Characters & Entities

Chandas

Gaṇa

Pāda

Kṛti

Snagdharā

FAQs

What is the importance of chandas (metre) in the Garuda Purana?

This verse shows that the text preserves precise vṛtta-lakṣaṇa (metre markers), helping reciters maintain correct rhythm and aiding scribes/archivists in verifying verse integrity through metrical structure.

How does this verse help identify the metre of a shloka?

It gives diagnostic gaṇa sequences per pāda—when the specified ‘ra-ja-u … go … la’ pattern appears, the metre is labeled Kṛti; and when the structure is ‘three sevens’ with a base pattern repeated thrice, it is identified as Snagdharā.

Practical application of this wisdom today?

Use these gaṇa and syllable-count cues to check chanting accuracy, to tag verses by metre in a digital archive, and to improve search/filtering (e.g., “Snagdharā metre verses”) for students and practitioners.