THE WORD NUMERIC SYSTEM OF CHANDOMAÑJARĪ: MARKING PAUSES IN SANSKRIT METRES

Abstract

In Chandomanjarīkāra Gaṅgādāsa’s description of vṛtta and jāti metres, he has indicated the yati (pause point of the tongue) within the vṛtta metre not only through numbers such as tri (three), chatur (four), etc., but also by using words like vāṇa, gaja, and others. Although these words have their own dictionary meanings, in this context they also convey specific numerical values.

For example, in the verse — māttau gau cec chālinī veda-lokaiḥ — which describes the characteristics of the śālinī metre, the yati occurs at the fourth and seventh syllables. Here, the word veda indicates the number four, and loka indicates the number seven, because there are four Vedas (Ṛk, Yajuṣ, Sāman, and Atharvan) and seven lokas (worlds such as bhū, bhuva, sva, etc.).