Lesson 115: Eight and Eleven
Index · Lesson 114: To Be Known · Lesson 116: Three Ślokas
Lesson 95: Eight Syllables counts eight. A syllable is heavy or light, and a quarter is sometimes eleven.
A light syllable has a short vowel, अ इ उ or ऋ, and that vowel does not have two consonants after it before the next vowel. A heavy syllable has a long vowel, आ ई ऊ ॠ ए ऐ ओ or औ, or it has ं or ः, or the short vowel has two consonants before the next vowel.
School calls the eight-syllable quarter अनुष्टुभ्. School calls the eleven-syllable quarter त्रिष्टुभ्. The भगवद्गीता uses both. The words are read the same way. Which seat inside the eight must be heavy, as a rule for composing a line, waits on the later list.
The eight, from lesson 95: धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे.
| Syllable | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | धर् | म | क्षे | त्रे | कु | रु | क्षे | त्रे |
| Weight | heavy | light | heavy | heavy | light | light | heavy | heavy |
धर् is heavy because the short अ has two consonants, र् and म, before the next vowel. क्षे and त्रे are heavy because ए is long.
The eleven, the first quarter of भगवद्गीता 11.15: पश्यामि देवांस्तव देव देहे.
| Syllable | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Sound | प | श्या | मि | दे | वां | स्त | व | दे | व | दे | हे |
प is heavy too: श्य is two consonants after the short अ. श्या is heavy because आ is long. दे and हे are heavy because ए is long. वां is heavy because of ं. मि is light. Lesson 103 opens देवांस्तव into देवान् and तव. देहे is the in-form of देहः, “a body,” शरीर. It is like छात्रः.
Practice
- Count धर्मक्षेत्रे कुरुक्षेत्रे, eight taps.
- Count पश्यामि देवांस्तव देव देहे, eleven taps.
- Say why वां is heavy, and why मि is light.
Next
Lesson 116: Three Ślokas reads three lines with the joins opened.