Tristubh
Encyclopedia
Tristubh is the name of a Vedic meter
of 44 syllables (four padas of eleven syllables each), or any hymn composed in this meter. It is the most prevalent meter of the Rigveda
, accounting for roughly 40% of its verses.
The tristubh pada contains a "break" or caesura, after either four or five syllables, necessarily at a word-boundary and if possible at a syntactic break, followed by either three or two short syllables. The final four syllables form a trochaic cadence. For example RV 2.3.1:
Is to be read metrically as
with , marking the caesura and | separating the cadence:
The Avesta
has a parallel stanza of 4x11 syllables with a caesura after the fourth syllable.
Tristubh verses are also used in later literature, its archaic associations used to press home a "Vedic" character of the poetry. The Bhagavad Gita
, while mostly composed in shloka
(developed from the Vedic Anustubh
) is interspersed with Tristubhs, for example in the passage beginning at chapter 11, verse 15, when Arjuna
begins speaking in Tristubhs.
Vedic meter
The verses of the Vedas have a variety of different meters. They are divided by number of padas in a verse, and by the number of syllables in a pada. Chandas , the study of Vedic meter, is one of the six Vedanga disciplines, or "organs of the vedas".*: 3 padas of 8 syllables-Principles:The main...
of 44 syllables (four padas of eleven syllables each), or any hymn composed in this meter. It is the most prevalent meter of the Rigveda
Rigveda
The Rigveda is an ancient Indian sacred collection of Vedic Sanskrit hymns...
, accounting for roughly 40% of its verses.
The tristubh pada contains a "break" or caesura, after either four or five syllables, necessarily at a word-boundary and if possible at a syntactic break, followed by either three or two short syllables. The final four syllables form a trochaic cadence. For example RV 2.3.1:
- a
- b
- c
- d
- "Agni is set upon the earth well kindled / he standeth in the presence of all beings. / Wise, ancient, God, the Priest and Purifier / let Agni serve the Gods for he is worthy." (trans. Griffith; note that the translator attempts to imitate the meter in English)
Is to be read metrically as
- a υ----,υυ|-υ-x
- b ----υ,υυ|-υ-x
- c --υ--,υυ|-υ-x
- d ----,υυυ|-υ-x
with , marking the caesura and | separating the cadence:
- a |
- b |
- c |
- d |
The Avesta
Avesta
The Avesta is the primary collection of sacred texts of Zoroastrianism, composed in the Avestan language.-Early transmission:The texts of the Avesta — which are all in the Avestan language — were composed over the course of several hundred years. The most important portion, the Gathas,...
has a parallel stanza of 4x11 syllables with a caesura after the fourth syllable.
Tristubh verses are also used in later literature, its archaic associations used to press home a "Vedic" character of the poetry. The Bhagavad Gita
Bhagavad Gita
The ' , also more simply known as Gita, is a 700-verse Hindu scripture that is part of the ancient Sanskrit epic, the Mahabharata, but is frequently treated as a freestanding text, and in particular, as an Upanishad in its own right, one of the several books that constitute general Vedic tradition...
, while mostly composed in shloka
Shloka
A ' is a category of verse line developed from the Vedic Anuṣṭubh. It is the basis for Indian Epic verse, and may be considered the Indian verse form par excellence, occurring, as it does, far more frequently than any other meter in classical Sanskrit poetry. The Mahabharata and Ramayana, for...
(developed from the Vedic Anustubh
Anuṣṭubh
' is the name of a meter and a metrical unit, found in both Vedic and Classical Sanskrit poetry, but with significant differences.By origin, an anuṣṭup stanza is a quatrain of four lines. Each line, called a pāda ' is the name of a meter and a metrical unit, found in both Vedic and Classical...
) is interspersed with Tristubhs, for example in the passage beginning at chapter 11, verse 15, when Arjuna
Arjuna
Arjuna in Indian mythology is the greatest warrior on earth and is one of the Pandavas, the heroes of the Hindu epic Mahābhārata. Arjuna, whose name means 'bright', 'shining', 'white' or 'silver' Arjuna (Devanagari: अर्जुन, Thai: อรชุน, Orachun, Tamil: Arjunan, Indonesian and Javanese: Harjuna,...
begins speaking in Tristubhs.