shloka
Sign in to saveAlso known as sloka, śloka
Shloka or śloka ( '''''', from the root , ) in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is "any verse or stanza; a proverb, saying"; but in particular it refers to the 32-syllable verse, derived from the Vedic anuṣṭubh metre, used in the Bhagavad Gita and many other works of classical Sanskrit literature.
~8 min read
Encyclopedic overview
7 sectionsContents
- Metrical pattern
- Examples
- Difference between shloka and mantra
- See also
- References
- Bibliography
- External links
Shloka or śloka ( '''''', from the root , ) in a broader sense, according to Monier-Williams's dictionary, is "any verse or stanza; a proverb, saying"; but in particular it refers to the 32-syllable verse, derived from the Vedic anuṣṭubh metre, used in the Bhagavad Gita and many other works of classical Sanskrit literature.
In its usual form it consists of four pādas or quarter-verses, of eight syllables each, or (according to an alternative analysis) of two half-verses of 16 syllables each. The metre is similar to the Vedic anuṣṭubh metre, but with stricter rules.
Excerpted from Wikipedia’s “shloka” article, available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 licence.