Shloka

Each 16-syllable hemistich (half-verse), of two 8-syllable pādas, can take either a pathyā ("normal") form or one of several vipulā ("extended") forms. The form of the second foot of the first pāda (II.) limits the possible patterns the first foot (I.) may assume. The scheme below, given by Macdonell, shows his understanding of the form of the śloka in the classical period of Sanskrit literature (4th–11th centuries CE): In poems of the intermediate period, such as the Bhagavad Gita, a fourth vipulā is found. This occurs 28 times in the Bhagavad Gita, that is, as often as the third vipulā. When this vipulā is used, there is a word-break (caesura) after the fourth syllable: :1. In both pādas, in syllables 2–3, u u is not allowed. :2. In the second pāda, in syllables 2–4, – u – is not allowed The pathyā and vipulā half-verses are arranged in the table above in order of frequency of occurrence. Out of 2579 half-verses taken from Kalidasa, Bharavi, Magha, and Bilhana, each of the four admissible forms of śloka in this order claims the following share: 2289, 116, 89, 85; that is, 89% of the half-verses have the regular pathyā form. The various vipulās, in the order above, are known to scholars writing in English as the first, second, third and fourth vipulā, or the paeanic, choriambic, molossic, and trochaic vipulā respectively. In Sanskrit writers, they are referred to as the na-, bha-, ma-, and ra-vipulā. Macdonell's chart given above is in fact too restrictive with regard the first four syllables in a vipulā verse. For example, the first quarter verse of the Rāmayaṇa (critical edition) contains a na-vipulā and scans ⏑ – – – ⏑ ⏑ ⏑ – (tapaḥsvādhyāyanirataṃ). Other examples are easy to find among classical poets, e.g., Rāmacarita 1.76 manyur dehāvadhir ayaṃ – – – – ⏑ ⏑ ⏑ –. In the ma-vipulā, a caesura is not obligatory after the fifth syllable, e.g., Śiśupālavadha 2.1a yiyakṣamāṇenāhūtaḥ ⏑ – ⏑ – – – – –. Noteworthy is the avoidance of an iambic cadence in the first pāda. By comparison, syllables 5–8 of any pāda in the old Vedic anuṣṭubh metre typically had the iambic ending u – u x (where "x" represents an anceps syllable). Statistical studies examining the frequency of the vipulās and the patterns in the earlier part of the pāda have been carried out to try to establish the preferences of various authors for different metrical patterns. It is believed that this may help to establish relative dates for the poems, and to identify interpolated passages. The Kannada śloka described by Nāgavarma I in his Chandombudhi allows any light (laghu) or heavy (guru) syllable in the first four and the eighth syllable, requires a light and heavy syllable in the fifth and sixth respectively, and alternates the seventh as long in odd-numbered pādas and short in even-numbered ones. The eighth syllable is often heavy, but it is not mandatory. Nāgavarma does say, however, that the seventh syllable may be also long across all four pādas, citing the practice of earlier poets. ==Examples==

A typical '''' is the following, which opens the Bhagavad Gita: : : : : :| – – – – | u – – – | :| u u – – | u – u – || :| – u – – | u – – u | :| u u – u | u – u u || :"(Dhṛtaraṣṭra said:) In the place of righteousness, at Kurukṣetra, :gathered together and desiring battle, :my sons and the sons of Pandu, :what did they do, Sanjaya?" From the period of high classical Sanskrit literature comes this benediction, which opens Bāṇabhaṭṭa's biographical poem Harṣacaritam (7th century CE): : : :| u – – u | u – – u | – u – u | u – u – || :| – – u u | u – – u | – – – – | u – u – || :"Praise be to Śambhu, beautified by the chowrie moon touching his lofty head; :like a foundation pillar of a city that is the universe." When a śloka is recited, performers sometimes leave a pause after each pāda, at other times only after the second pāda. (See External links.) ==Difference between shloka and mantra==

A Shloka has to be composed in a specific metre (chhanda), with a specific number of lines with a specific number of words per line, each word could be a mantra. For example, viṣṇu sahastranāma is in anuṣṭup chhanda (two lines of four words each). A mantra, on the other hand, is prefixed by omkara (primordial sound) and suffixed by the essential nama (name) and the salutary word nama (salutation) between the prefix and the suffix. No metre is prescribed. The lyrics in any Vārnic or matric metres are shlokas, but stanzas from Vedic hymns are not shloka, despite it being a common mistake to think this. ==See also==