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

ໃນແບບສັນທະສຽງນີ້ ຖ້າກຸ່ມຄຳ (gaṇa) ໃນແຕ່ລະບາດເປັນ «ra-ja-u, ra-ja-u» ແລະຕາມດ້ວຍ «ra-ja-u» ອີກຄັ້ງ (ຕໍ່ດ້ວຍ «go» ແລະ «la») ຈະເອີ້ນວ່າ ກຣິຕິ (Kṛti). ເມື່ອມີ 3 ຊຸດໆລະ 7 ພະຍາງ ຈະເປັນ ສນັກດະຣາ (Snagdharā); ແລະປະກຣິຕິຂອງມັນເກີດຈາກການຊ້ຳ «ma-na-bha-na» 3 ຄັ້ງ.

Word by Word

• वृत्तम्: metre-pattern (vṛtta)
• वृत्तम्: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: वृत्त (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: नपुंसकलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• रजौ: in/at ‘ra’ (gaṇa-marker)
• रजौ: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (वैदिक/छन्दसि रूप)

• रजौ: in/at ‘ra’ (gaṇa-marker)
• रजौ: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (वैदिक/छन्दसि रूप)

• पादे: in the pāda (quarter-verse)
• पादे: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: पाद (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन

• रजौ: in/at ‘ra’ (gaṇa-marker)
• रजौ: Adhikarana (Locative/अधिकरण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: रजु (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, सप्तमी (7th/Locative), एकवचन (वैदिक/छन्दसि रूप)

• गो: ‘ga’ (gaṇa-marker)
• गो: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: गो (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (छन्दो-गण-चिह्न)

• लः: ‘la’ (marker)
• लः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: ल (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन (वर्ण-चिह्न)

• कृतिः: Kṛti (name of a metre)
• कृतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: कृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• भवेत्: would be / is (to be)
• भवेत्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: भू (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• त्रिसप्तकैः: by the three sevens (i.e., 21)
• त्रिसप्तकैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: त्रि + सप्तक (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• स्नग्धरा: Snagdharā (name of a metre)
• स्नग्धरा: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: स्नग्धरा (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• स्यात्: would be / may be
• स्यात्: Kriya (Verb/क्रिया)
• Type: Verb
• Root: अस् (धातु)
• Form: विधिलिङ् (Optative), प्रथमपुरुष (3rd person), एकवचन

• प्रकृतिः: Prakṛti (name of a metre)
• प्रकृतिः: Karta (Subject/कर्ता)
• Type: Noun
• Root: प्रकृति (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: स्त्रीलिङ्ग, प्रथमा (1st/Nominative), एकवचन

• म्नभनैः: by the gaṇa-markers ‘mna’ and ‘bhana’
• म्नभनैः: Karana (Instrument/करण)
• Type: Noun
• Root: म्न + भन (प्रातिपदिक; छन्दोगण-संज्ञा)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन

• त्रियैः: by three (sets)
• त्रियैः: Visheshana (Qualifier/विशेषण)
• Type: Adjective
• Root: त्रि (प्रातिपदिक)
• Form: पुंलिङ्ग, तृतीया (3rd/Instrumental), बहुवचन; संख्याविशेषण

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.