Vedic meter refers to the poetic meter in the Vedic literature. The study of Vedic meters, along with post-Vedic meters, is part of Chandas, one of the six Vedanga disciplines.
Contents
Overview
There are several other minor metres found in the Vedas, such as:
Gayatri meter
The shortest and most sacred of Vedic meters is the Gayatri metre. It consists of three octosyllabic feet (pada, 3x8) with 24 syllables. The following is an example of a Rigvedic hymn in Gayatri meter:
Depending on the emphasis (da or DUM), the Vedic poets developed many varieties of each meter, including the Gayatri. Of these, 11 varieties of Gayatri meter were particularly used in the Rigveda. Each eight syllable line of the Rigveda, is almost exactly equivalent to the Greek iambic dimeter. The sacred Gayatri meter of the Hindus consists of three of such iambic dimeter lines, and this embedded meter alone is at the heart of about 25% of the entire Rigveda. The only meter more commonly used in Rigveda, than Gayatri, is the Tristubh meter consisting of 4x11 structure (44 syllables). The structure of Gayatri and other Vedic meters is more experimental and flexible than post-Vedic meters.