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Notes on Short (laghu) and Long (guru) Syllables in Sanskrit Metres

Upali Sraman
Introduction
The laghu-guru dichotomy is concerned with the identification and subtle differences in the use
of short or light (laghu) and long or heavy (guru) syllables (ak ara) and syllabic instants (mtr)
in Sanskrit prosody. Syllables and syllabic instants are the most fundamental components that
one must have a very clear knowledge about in order to understand the Classical Sanskrit
prosody. In fact, as long as one is unaware of these subtle differences one would not be able to
read a Sanskrit verse accurately. In the following paragraphs, I briefly introduce syllables and
syllabic instants and how to identify short and long syllables and syllabic instants in Sanskrit
prosody.
Syllables (aks ara) and Syllabic Instants (mtr)
The words used for syllables and syllabic instants in Sanskrit are akara
and mtr respectively.
An aks ara is generally represented by a single sound created by the pronunciation of vowels.
There are 13 vowels in Sanskrit alphabets and hence 13 aks ara-s. They are categorized into two
groups short or light (laghu) and long or heavy (guru). The laghu vowels are five a, i, u, r ,
and l . The guru vowels are eight , , , , e, ai, o, and au.
Mtr (syllabic instant) is a metrical unit, also known as mora or a prosodial instant, representing
the duration of time needed to pronounce a sound. A short vowel contains one mtr, a long
vowel two mtr-s and a prolated vowel 3. A hanging consonant in a word too is recognized as a
mtr or syllabic instant. Therefore, there are as many syllabic instants as there are letters. In the
following paragraph, we shall see how these aks ara-s and mtr-s form laghu-guru distinctions
and their roles in Sanskrit prosody.
Distinction between laghu and guru
As mentioned above, a laghu syllable is represented by one short vowel; and a long vowel makes
a guru syllable. The most possible occurrence of a laghu syllable (aks ara) is when it is used after
a consonant (e.g. vi, pra, etc.). In other positions of a short vowel with consonants, it is
considered as guru. Possible occurrences of guru are shown below.
1.
2.
3.
4.
5.

Long vowel followed by consonant (e.g. c) is long (guru).

Consonant followed by hanging consonant (e.g. ck or cakk) is long (guru).
Consonant followed by long vowel (e, g. c) is long (guru).
Any consonant or vowel followed by /h (e.g. ah or a) is long (guru).
Consonant followed by diphthong also long.

6. Final last vowel is considered to be long.

In Sanskrit a guru, aks a ra or mtr is represented by a straight line (sarala rekh or l). A laghu
aks ara or mtr is represented by a narrow or crooked line (vakra rekh

or S). Any sentence in

a Sanskrit verse can be broken into laghu and guru according to the directions given above. A
smallest group, formed by three syllables, is known as a gan a (a trysyllabic group). Sanskrit
prosodists have made a list of eight groups showing all the possible ways that syllables can be
used. As to their order, there is no fixed method of arrangement. Different prosodists explain
them in different methods for the convenience of committing them into memory with ease.
Pigala, one of the ancient Sanskrit prosodists, has organized the gan a-s in the following
compound ya-m-t-r-ja-bh-na-sa-lag. Here, the syllables of each gan a can be understood
by taking anyone of them with the succeding two (e.g. yamt =

, , for ya-ga a and mtr

= , , for ma-gaa). The following is a prominent verse explaining the placement of laghu
and guru in the eight gaas.
dimadhyvaaneu yaratyti lghavam
bhajagauravam yti manau tu guru lghavam
Accordingly, the gan as ya, ra, and ta have laghu syllable at the beginning, middle, and end
respectively; the remaining two are guru. But, the gan a-s bha, ja, and sa, have guru syllable at
the beginning, middle, and end respectively; the remaining two are laghu. The ma-gan a has all
three guru and na gan a has all three laghu. The eight gan a-s are illustrated below with the laghu
and guru symbols and their Greek names.
Gan a-s
Sanskrit
ya
ra
ta
bha
ja
sa
ma
na

in sign sign sign Greek Names

_
_
_
_

_
_

_
_

_
_

Bacchius
Amphimacer
Anti-bacchius
Dactylus
Amphibracchius
Anapoestus
Moloesus
Tribachys

Conclusion
The above paragraphs explain the distinction between laghu and guru, and how they contribute
in the formation of gan a-s. Here, I make some general remarks on their role in the broader field
of Sanskrit prosody. The syllables and gan a-s help in understanding the Sanskrit metres, of
which more than six hundred are available. Metres formed by these gan a-s are grouped into two
types - jti and vr tta. The jti metres are counted based on mtr-s. Therefore, jti metres are

also known as mtrcchandas or Moric metres. Of the moric metres, rya is the most prominent.
According to Amulyadhan Mukherjee, they are not to be found in epics. There are sporadic
verses in some recensions of the Mahbhrata in which a few of these metres are used, but such
verses are undoubtedly later interpolations. These moric metres are of non-Aryan origin
though at a particular stage they affected some of the traditional Sanskrit metres, and later on
infiltrated into Sanskrit prosody. (pp.94-95). The Vr tta metres are counted based on gan a-s.
Historically, two stages of Vr tta-metres are recognized the aks aravr tta (representing the early
Vedic and epic metres based on syllable count with relative freedom in the distribution of light
and heavy syllables Sanskrit Prosody in Wikipedia) and varn avr tta (representing the classical
Sanskrit metres based on syllable count, but the light-heavy patterns are fixed Sanskrit Prosody
in Wikipedia). The Vr tta metres are threefold Samavr tta (where all the four pda-s are written in
a common metre), ardhasama (where first and third pda or feet are in one metre and the second
and fourth in another metre) and the visama (where there is no regular pattern). The Sama and
ardhasama metres can have a finite number, but the visama is almost infinite (Apte, p.1035).
Works Consulted
1. Apte, V.S. Sanskrit Prosody, Appendix I pp.1035-1042, in Practical Sanskrit-English
Dictionary.
2. Amulyadhan Mukherjee (1976), Sanskrit Prosody: Its Evolution, Calcutta.
3. Vr ttaratnkara the Sanskrit Text with the Ratnprabht k
4. Classical Sanskrit Prosody in Wikipedia the free Encyclopedia
5. Class notes and Discussions with Mr. Rohana Seneviratne.
6. Monier Williams Sanskrit-English Dictionary, Digital Version.