SanskritMetres 01 AnushtupShloka

[This video in sequence:    • SanskritMetres 01 AnushtupShloka   ] Anuṣṭup is technically a generic name for metres of eight letters, and among the anuṣṭup varieties, it is the śloka that is the most important, beautiful, and popular. Such is its popularity that often every Sanskrit verse is termed as śloka. An anuṣṭup (śloka) composed by Gaṅgādevī, the well-known poetess of Vijayanagar. It is from her epic Vīra-kampaṇa-rāya-caritam or Madhurā-vijayam. It is a verse in praise of poet Vālmīki. cetaso 'stu prasādāya satām prācetaso muniḥ / pṛthivyām padya-nirmāṇa-vidyāyāḥ prathamam padam // One more verse in the same śloka metre, composed by the great poet Bāṇabhaṭṭa in his Harṣacaritam. The well-known benedictory verse: namas-tuṅga-śiraś-cumbi-candra-cāmara-cārave / trailokya-nagarārambha-mūla-stambhāya śambhave // These two varieties indicate the complex structure of the metre with compounded words. If anuṣṭup is composed in a simple manner without samāsās, we can see a subhāṣita sujanaṃ vyajanam manye cāru-vaṃśa-samudbhavam / ātmānaṃ tu paribhrāmya para-tāpa-nivārakam // [No video] [Background: I asked the poet and scholar Shatavadhani Dr R. Ganesh for help on how to read/recite some common metres. He generously agreed, and illustrated over 30 metres, choosing the example verses and reciting them mostly from memory (and a couple which he composed on the spot).]