Metres in the Ramcharitmanas for the NRI Hindus of USA, Europe, Asia

Metres in the Ramcharitmanas for the NRI Hindus

There are many NRI Hindus of USA, Europe, Asia wants to know the roots of their heritage and read Ramcharitmanas.  This article is to understand the Metres to enjoy the readings of this most important book of Hindu Dharma.

This article enlists all the Saṃskṛta and Prākṛta metres used in the the Rāmacaritamānasa of Gosvāmī Tulasīdāsa. Many printed versions of the epic are in existence today, and I have considered the critical edition of the Rāmacaritamānasa edited by my Guru, Jagadguru Rambhadracharya, and published by Tulsi Peeth, Chitakoot, Uttar Pradesh as the authentic edition.

The Rāmacaritamānasa consists of 10,902 verses composed in as many as 18 Saṃskṛta and Prākṛta metres, which will be described sequentially. The knowledge of the metres is essential for the perfect recitation or musical rendition of the epic – the nuances of the instants and the caesura helps one read or sing the epic keeping a harmonious synchronization with the mtetre being recited or sung. Erring on a single instant or caesura results in breakdown of the rhythm, this happens even with seasoned singers of the epic. An example is the recitation of the following line (Rāmacaritamānasa 1.96.9).

जो फल चहिय सुरतरुहिं सो बरबस बबूरहि लागई।

while rendering the line in the album Shiv Vivah in his divine voice, Pandit Channulal Mishra misses the rhythm by one instant the first time, rendering चहिय in four instants instead of three. The veteran of Rāmacaritamānasa singing he is, he realiz singing he is, he realizes it immediately and renders the line again, this time flawlessly.

1. A short note on Saṃskṛta and Prākṛta Prosody

The Rāmacaritamānasa is composed in both Avadhi (Prākṛta) and Saṃskṛta. Metres in Prākṛta and Saṃskṛta are of two kinds, Vārṇika and Mātrika. The unit for both is a Varṇa or syllable, which is a sound with a single vowel. Specifically, Varṇa can mean

A single vowel without any consonant (e.g. अ, इ, उ, ए)

One or more consonants followed by a terminal vowel (e.g. क, क्य, स्त्य, र्स्त्न्य)

Vārṇika metres are governed by rules which stipulate the number of syllables, the sequence of short and long syllables, and by implication, the number of instants. Whereas the Mātrika metres are governed by rules which stipulate the number of instants only. A short syllable has one instant while a long syllable has two instants.

There are some rules to distinguish a short syllable from a long syllable in prosody –

अ इ उ ऋ ऌ – these short vowels, alone or after one or more consonants, are counted as one instant. E.g. अ, इ, उ, ऋ, ऌ, क, हि, गु, तृ, कॢ, etc.

आ ई ऊ ए ऐ ओ औ – these long vowels, alone or after one or more consonants, are counted as two instants. E.g. आ, ई, ऊ, ए, ऐ, ओ, औ, हा, जी, मू, ते, को, गौ, etc.

If the terminal vowel of the syllable is followed by the Anusvāra or the Visarga, the syllable is counted as two instants. E.g. सः, गाः, यं, श्रीं, etc.

The short syllable before a conjunct consonant (two or more consonants without any intermediate vowel like क्य, ज्ञ, क्ष or र्त्स्न्य), is counted as a long syllable. Exceptions to this rule are conjuncts प्र, ह्र, ब्र and क्र. In Prākṛta, this rule is applicable only if the preceding vowel and the conjunct are part of the same word. For example in मायामनुष्यं, the नु is counted as a long syllable (Saṃskṛta), but in जब ते राम ब्याहि घर आए (2.1.1), the म in राम is counted as a short syllable (different word in Prākṛta).

A short syllable at the end of a foot (sixth part, quarter of half) of a verse may be considered as a long syllable, if required to complete the metre.

In Prākṛta, the ए and the ओ have two versions – a short one and a long one. They are not indicated by any special marks in published versions of the epic, nor are there any rules to distinguish the same. The fine distinction can be made by practicing singing of the epic. For example in सभय हृदयँ बिनवति जेहि तेही (1.257.4), the जे in जेहि is a short syllable, but the ते in तेही is a long syllable.

While reciting or singing Saṃskṛta and Prākṛta poetry, the caesura between two syllables where one is supposed to pause for a short time is called Yati in prosody.

In Saṃskṛta and Praskrit prosody, the metres are described using eight single-consonant codes for three-syllable sequences. These codes are called Gaṇas, and are as below –

 

y   (य्)     Short-Long-Short

m  (म्)     Long-Long-Long

t    (त्)     Long-Long -Short

r    (र्)     Long-Short-Long

j    (ज्)    Short-Long-Short

bh (भ्)    Long-Short-Short

n   (न्)     Short-Short-Short

s   (स्)     Short-Short-Long

The above sequence of the Gaṇas is a B(2,3) de Bruijn sequence with the alphabet set consisting of ‘Short’ and ‘Long’. An oft-cited mnemonic to remember the sequence codes is yamātārājabhānasalagāḥ. In this mnemonic, the lengths of the three syllables starting from the eight consonants are the lengths of the triplet represented by the consonant in the Gaṇa code.

There is also a Saṃskṛta verse describing the Gaṇas –

आदिमध्यावसानेषु यरता यान्ति लाघवम् । भजसा गौरवं यान्ति मनौ तु गुरुलाघवम् ॥

The number of various metres in the Mānasa: Caupāī – 9388, Dohā 1172, Soraṭhā – 87, Śloka (Anuṣṭup, Śārdūlavikrīḍita, Vasantatilakā, Vaṃśastha,  Upajāti, pramāṇikā, Mālinī, Sragdharā, Rathoddhatā, Bhujaṅgaprayāta, Toṭaka) – 47, Chanda (Harigītikā, Caupaiyā, Tribhaṅgī, Tomara) – 208. Total 10902.

 

III. Metres of Saṁskṛta verses in the Rāmacaritamānasa:

Mānasa has 47 verses in Saṁskṛta and their metres are as follows –

1. Anuṣtup

This is the metre of the first verse in the Mānasa. The Rāmāyaṇa of Valmīki is majorly composed in this metre. This is neither completely a metre determined by syllables, nor completely one determinied by instants. It has 4 feet in two lines, and every feet has 8 syllables – length of syllables is not same across feet. In every feet, the fifth syllable is long, and the sixth short. In the first and the third feet, the seventh syllable is long; while the seventh syllable in short in the second and fourth feet. There is a ceasura after every foot. The Mānasa has 7 verses in the Anuṣtup metre – 5 at the beginning of Bālakāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verses 1 to 5), one at the beginning of Yuddhakāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verse 3) and one at the coda of Rudrāṣṭakam in the Uttarakāṇḍa (7.108.9). Example below is the first verse of the Mānasa –

वर्णानामर्थसङ्घानां रसानां छन्दसामपि ।
मङ्गलानां च कर्तारौ वन्दे वाणीविनायकौ ॥

 

2. Śārdūlavikrīḍita

This beautiful metre has four feet of 19 syllables each. There is a ceasura after the twelfth syllable in each foot. The sequence of short (S) and long (L) syllables is LLLSSLSLSSSL LLSLLSL. This metre occurs in all the seven Kāṇḍas of the Mānasa (other such metres are the Dohā, the Soraṭhā, the Caupāī and the Harigītikā). There are 10 verses in the Śārdūlavikrīḍita metre in the epic – one each at the beginning of Bālakāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verse 6), Ayodhyākāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verse 1), Sundarakāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verse 1), Yuddhakāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verse 2), two each at the beginning of Araṇyakāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verses 1 and 2) and Kiṣkinidhākāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verses 1 and 2) and the two last verses (7.132.1, 7.132.2) of the Uttarakāṇḍa (and also the Mānasa). Example is the following last verse of  the Rāmacaritamānasa (7.131.2) –

पुण्यं पापहरं सदा शिवकरं विज्ञानभक्तिप्रदं
मायामोहमलापहं सुविमलं प्रेमाम्बुपूरं शुभम् ।
श्रीमद्रामचरित्रमानसमिदं भक्त्यावगाहन्ति ये
ते संसारपतङ्गघोरकिरणैर्दह्यन्ति नो मानवाः ॥

3. Vasantatilakā

This metre is also known as Uddharṣiṇī or Siṁhonnatā. This is a very mellifluous metre. Every foot has 14 syllables, and pause after the 8th and 14th syllables. The sequence of short (S) and long (L) syllables in every foot is LLSLSSSL SSLSLL. This metre is used at two places in the Mānasa –

• At the beginning of the Bālakāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verse 7)

नानापुराणनिगमागमसम्मतं यद्रामायणे निगदितं क्वचिदन्यतोऽपि ।

स्वान्तःसुखाय तुलसी रघुनाथगाथाभाषानिबन्धमतिमञ्जुलमातनोति ॥

• At the beginning of the Sundarakāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verse 2)

नान्या स्पृहा रघुपते हृदयेऽस्मदीये सत्यं वदामि च भवानखिलान्तरात्मा ।

भक्तिं प्रयच्छ रघुपुङ्गव निर्भरां में कामादिदोषरहितं कुरु मानसं च ॥

4. Vaṁśastha

This metre is also called by the names Vaṁśasthavilia and Vaṁśastanita. It has 12 syllables in each foot, and the sequence of short (S) and long (L) syllables is SLSLLSSLSLSL. The Rāmacaritamānasa has only one verse composed in the Vaṁśastha metre at the beginning of the Ayodhyākāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verse 2)

प्रसन्नतां या न गताभिषेकतस्तथा न मम्लौ वनवासदुःखतः ।
मुखाम्बुजश्री रघुनन्दनस्य मे सदाऽस्तु सा मञ्जुलमङ्गलप्रदा ॥

Some editions have the grammatically incorrect published form of  मम्ले instead of  मम्लौ.

5. Upajāti

When the Indravajrā (four feet of 11 syllables with the sequence LLSLLSSLSLL) and the Upendravajrā (four feet of 11 syllables with the sequence SLSLLSSLSLL) metres are mixed in the same verse, the resultant metre is called Upajāti. Ordinarily the Upajāti metre is the most frequently used metre in Saṃskṛta poetry, but it is used in only one verse in the Mānasa, at the beginning of Ayodhyākāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verse 3) –

नीलाम्बुजश्यामलकोमलाङ्गं सीतासमारोपितवामभागम् ।
पाणौ महासायकचारुचापं नमामि रामं रघुवंशनाथम् ॥

As per Gurudeva, only this śloka rightly deserves the distinction of being the single-verse Rāmāyaṇa, as its four feet respectively describe the four pastimes of the all-pervading Lord Rāma – childhood, marriage, war and rule in only one metre.

6. Pramāṇikā

Every foot has 8 syllables, and the sequence of short (S) and long (L) syllables in a foot is SLSLSLSL. There are 13 verses composed in the Pramāṇikā metre in the Mānasa. In the eulogy by sage Atri in Araṇyakāṇḍa, there are 12 verses (3.4.1 to 3.4.12) in the Pramāṇikā metre, the first of which is as follows –

नमामि भक्तवत्सलं कृपालुशीलकोमलम् ।
भजामि ते पदाम्बुजम् अकामिनां स्वधामदम्  ॥

As per Gurudeva, the reason for 12 Pramāṇikā verses is that the Lord lived for 12 years in Citrakūṭa. There is one verse composed in the Pramāṇikā metre in the conversation between Kākabhuṣuṇḍi and Garuḍa in the Uttarakāṇḍa, verse number 7.122(3) –

विनिश्चितं वदामि ते न अन्यथा वचांसि मे ।
हरिं नरा भजन्ति येऽतिदुस्तरं तरन्ति ते ॥

7. Mālinī

This metre has four feet of 15 syllables each, and the sequence of short (S) and long (L) syllables in each foot is SSSSSSLL LSLLSLL. The pause occurs after the 8th syllable and at the end of the foot. There is only one verse in the Mālinī metre in the Mānasa which occurs in the praise of Hanumān Ji at the beginning of Sundarakāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verse 3) –

 

अतुलितबलधामं स्वर्णशैलाभदेहं
दनुजवनकृशानुं ज्ञानिनामग्रगण्यम्‌ ।
सकलगुणनिधानं  वानराणामधीशं
रघुपतिवरदूतं वातजातं नमामि ॥

8. Sragdharā

Among metres used for Saṁskṛta verses in the Mānasa, the Sragdharā is the longest. There are 21 syllables in every foot, and there are ceasuras at 7th, 14th and 21st syllables. The sequence of short (S) and long (L) syllables is LLLLSLL SSSSSSL LSLLSLL. This metre is used in two verses in the Mānasa –

 

• The first verse of the Yuddhakāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verse 1)

रामं कामारिसेव्यं भवभयहरणं कालमत्तेभसिंहं
योगीन्द्रज्ञानगम्यं गुणनिधिमजितं निर्गुणं निर्विकारम् ।
मायातीतं सुरेशं खलवधनिरतं ब्रह्मवृन्दैकदेवं
वन्दे कन्दावदातं सरसिजनयनं देवमुर्वीशरूपम् ॥

 

• The first verse of the Uttarakāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verse 1)

केकीकण्ठाभनीलं सुरवरविलसद्विप्रपादाब्जचिह्नं
शोभाढ्यं पीतवस्त्रं सरसिजनयनं सर्वदा सुप्रसन्नम् ।
पाणौ नाराचचापं कपिनिकरयुतं बन्धुना सेव्यमानं
नौमीड्यं जानकीशं रघुवरमनिशं पुष्पकारूढरामम् ॥

9. Rathoddhatā

This metre has 11 syllables in each foot, and the sequence of short (S) and long (L) syllables is LSLSSSLSLSL. The pause occurs after the third or fourth syllable of the foot and also at the end of the foot. There are two verses composed in the Rathoddhatā metre at the beginning of the Uttarakāṇḍa (Maṅgalācaraṇa verses 2 and 3) –

As per Gurudeva’s words, the word Kundaḥ in the second verse above is in the nominative case and stands for dimwitted, the Visarga is elided due to Sandhi.

 

10. Bhujaṅgaprayāta

This metre has four feet of 12 syllables, and the sequence of short (S) and long (L) syllables is SLLSLLSLLSLL. In the Rudrāṣṭakam (7.108.1 to 7.108.8), the eulogy of Lord Śiva sung by the Brahmin in the Uttarakāṇḍa, there occur 8 verses in the Bhujaṅgaprayāta metre, the first one of which is –

1. Metres of Prākṛta (Avadhī) verses in the Rāmacaritamānasa

 

11. Soraṭhā (Saurāṣṭra)

This is the first metre in Prākṛta (Avadhī) in the Mānasa. This metre is determined by instants, and not syllables. The four feet have 11, 13, 11 and 13 instants respectively. The pause occurs at the end of every foot. There is rhyme at the end of first and third feet, and the sequence of rhyming pattern is short and long (SL). The 11 instants are parsed in the 6-4-1 sequence, and the 13 instants are parsed in the 6-4-3 sequence, but there is no rule for ceasura in this division. There is a word boundary at the end of every foot. Example is Bālakāṇḍa Maṅgalācaraṇa verse 8 –

 

The Dohā is the mirror image of the Soraṭhā – the feet have 13, 11, 13 and 11 instants and the rhyme occurs at the end of second and fourth feet. Although both odd and even feet have rhyme in this Soraṭhā, yet it cannot be termed as a Dohā because the rhyme sequence at the end of even feet does not have the short-long sequence. Moreover, the word बुद्धि cannot be split across two feet, and including it with करउ अनुग्रह सोइ will lead to a 14-10 instant sequence, instead of 13-11. The Mānasa as 87 verses composed in the Soraṭhā metre – 36 in Bālakāṇḍa, 13 in Ayodhyākāṇḍa (after every 25th group of Caupāīs – 2.25, 2.50, 2.75, 2.100, 2.126, 2.151 et cetera), 8 in Araṇyakāṇḍa, 3 in Kiṣkinidhākāṇḍa, 1 in Sundarakāṇḍa, 9 in Yuddhakāṇḍa, and 17 in Uttarakāṇḍa.

 

12. Caupāī

This metre, determined by instants, has two feet of 16 instants each. Within every foot, there is a pause after the eighth instant. This is the main metre of the Mānasa. One foot of this metre is called Ardhālī. The rhyme occurs at the end of the first and second feet. Example (5.40.6) is –

जहाँ सुमति तहँ संपति नाना । जहाँ कुमति तहँ बिपति निदाना ॥

The metre in Hanumān Cālīsā is the same, which has 40 verses in this metre. Mānasa contains 9388 verses in the Caupāī metre, and they are compared to the the dense leaves of lotuses in the Mānasa lake in the following Ardhālī (1.37.4) by Gosvāmī Tulasīdāsa –

पुरइनि सघन चारु चौपाई ।

 

13. Dohā (Dvipāda)

This is also a metre determined by instants. There are 13, 11, 13 and 11 instants respectively in the four feet. There is a ceasura at the end of every foot, and rhyme occurs at the end of even feet. The rhyme has the syllable sequence of short-long. The 13 instants are parsed as 6-4-3 and the 11 instants as 6-4-1, but there is no rule of pause or word boundary within this parsing. There is a word boundary at the end of every foot. Example (1.1) –

जथा सुअंजन अंजि दृग साधक सिद्ध सुजान ।
कौतुक देखत सैल बन भूतल भूरि निधान ॥

The Rāmacaritamānasa contains 1172 verses in the Dohā metre – among which there are 359 in the Bālakāṇḍa, 314 in the Ayodhyākāṇḍa, 51 in the Araṇyakāṇḍa, 31 in the Kiṣkinidhākāṇḍa, 62 in the Sundarakāṇḍa, 148 in the Yuddhakāṇḍa, and 207 in the Uttarakāṇḍa.

14. Harigītikā

If the Caupāīs are the green leaves of lotus, the Dohās Soraṭhās and other metres are the multi-coloured lotuses, then the Harigītikās are verily the Brahma Kamala (Saussurea obvallata) visible at the high peaks. This metre is so incomparably melodious to sing and the poetic excellence of Gosvāmī Tulasīdāsa is so refined in this metre that the beauty can be experienced only by listening.

Each of its four feet contains 28 instants, in the sequence of 7-7-7-7 (further parsed as 2-2-1-2, 2-2-1-2, 2-2-1-2, 2-2-1-2). The rhyme occurs at the end of first and second feet and also at the end of third and fourth feet. The pattern of the rhyme is short-long. In the Mānasa, Harigītikās invariably occur after the Caupāīs and before the Dohā or the Soraṭhā. Often the first 2-3 words of the Harigītikā are same as or synonyms of the last 2-3 words of the immediately preceding Caupāī.

It is noticeable that in the context of Lord Śiva’s marriage, Harigītikās occur at 11 places and in the context marriage of Lord Rāma, Harigītikās occur at 12 places. As per Svami Akhaṇḍānanda Sarasvatī, the reason is that Lord Śiva is one of the Rudras who are 11 in number, while Lord Rāma one of the Ādityas (Viṣṇu) who are 12 in number. An example is (5.35.11) –

चिक्करहिं दिग्गज डोल महि गिरि लोल पावक खरभरे ।
मन हरष सभ गंधर्ब सुर मुनि नाग किंनर दुख टरे ।
कटकटहिं मर्कट बिकट भट बहु कोटि कोटिन्ह धावहीं ।
जय राम प्रबल प्रताप कोसलनाथ गुन गन गावहीं ॥

There are only five metres which are present in all the seven Kāṇḍas in the Mānasa – the Śārdūlavikrīḍita, the Soraṭhā, the Caupāī, the Dohā and the Harigītikā. There are 139 verses in the Rāmacaritamānasa composed in the Harigītikā metre – 47 in the Bālakāṇḍa, 13 in the Ayodhyākāṇḍa, 14 in the Araṇyakāṇḍa, 3 in the Kiṣkinidhākāṇḍa, 6 in the Sundarakāṇḍa, 38 in the Yuddhakāṇḍa and 18 in the Uttarakāṇḍa.

 

15. Caupaiyā

This metre has four feet, and every feet consists of 30 instants. There is ceasura after the 10th, 18th and 30th instant and the last syllable of every foot is long. Rhyme occurs at the end of the first and second feet, and at the end of third and fourth feet. And, within the foot, rhyme occurs at the end of 10th and 18th instants. In this metre, the sequence is 10-8-12, while it is 10-8-14 in the Tribhaṅgī metre. In the Mānasa, there are 10 verses composed in the Caupaiyā metre – 1.183.9, 1.184.9, 1.1861.1 to 1.186.4 and 1.192.1 to 1.192.4. Among these verses, those forming the eulogy of Śrīrāmacandra by the deities (1.186.1 to 1.186.4) and the manifestation of Śrīrāma  (1.192.1 to 1.192.4) are very dear to the passionate Mānasa lovers. Examples –

1) Eulogy by the deities (1.186.1)

जय जय सुरनायक (१०) + जन सुखदायक (८) + प्रनतपाल भगवंता (१२) = ३० ।

गो द्विज हितकारी (१०) + जय असुरारी (८) + सिंधुसुता प्रिय कंता (१२) = ३० ।

पालन सुर धरनी (१०) अद्भुत करनी (८) मरम न जानई कोई (१२) = ३० ।

जो सहज कृपाला (१०) + दीनदयाला (८) करउ + अनुग्रह सोई (१२) = ३० ॥

2) The manifestation of Śrīrāma (1.192.1)

भए प्रगट कृपाला (१०) + दीनदयाला (८) + कौसल्या हितकारी (१२) = ३० ।

हरषित महतारी (१०) + मुनि मन हारी (८) + अद्भुत रूप निहारी (१२) = ३० ।

लोचन अभिरामा (१०) + तनु घनश्यामा (8) + निज आयुध भुज चारी (१२) = ३० ।

भूषन बनमाला (१०) + नयन बिशाला (८) शोभासिन्धु खरारी (१२) = ३० ॥

 

16. Tribhaṅgī

Each feet of the Tribhaṅgī has 32 instants. There is rhyme within every foot and also between feet. Rhyme occurs at the end of first and second feet and also at the end of third and fourth feet and the last syllable of every foot is long.

The 32 instants are divided as 10-8-14 and there are pauses at the 10th, 18th and 32nd instant. In addition, there is rhyme at 10th and 18th instant of every foot. Sometimes a Tribhaṅgī is also defined as 10-8-8-6, but all the Tribhaṅgīs in Mānasa do not have a pause after the 26th instant, and hence the sequence 10-8-14 is given here. In the context of the redemption of Ahalyā.

There are 4 verses in the Tribhaṅgī metre – 1.211.1 to 1.211.4. As per Gurudeva, the reason is that the sin, sufferinig anf curse of mother Ahalyā were destroyed by the touch of the feet of Lord Rāma, and hence Sarasvatī made the Tribhaṅgī metre come forth in the words of Gosvamījī. Example (1.211.1) –

परसत पद पावन (१०) + शोक नसावन (८) + प्रगट भई तपपुंज सही (१४) = ३२ ।

देखत रघुनायक (१०) + जन सुखदायक (८) + सनमुख होइ कर जोरि रही (१४) = ३२ ।

अति प्रेम अधीरा (१०) + पुलक शरीरा (८) + मुख नहिं आवइ बचन कही (१४) = ३२ ।

अतिशय बड़भागी (१०) + चरनन लागी (८) + जुगल नयन जलधार बही (१४) = ३२ ॥

 

17. Tomara

Tomara is a metre determined by instants, and each foot of this metre contains 12 instants. There is rhyme at the end of the first and second feet and also at the end of third and fourth feet. There are 24 verses in this metre in the Mānasa – 8 verses each at three places. These three places are –

1) Lord Rāma’s battle against Khara, Dūṣaṇa, Triśirā and army of 14000 demons in the Araṇyakāṇḍa (3.20.1 to 3.20.8)

तब चले बान कराल । फुंकरत जनु बहु ब्याल ।
कोपेउ समर श्रीराम । चले बिशिख निशित निकाम ॥

2) The deceptive war-play by Rāvaṇa in the Yuddhakāṇḍa (6.101.1 to 6.101.8)

जब कीन्ह तेहिं पाषंड । भए प्रगट जंतु प्रचंड ।
बेताल भूत पिशाच । कर धरें धनु नाराच ॥

3) The eulogy of Śrīrāghava by Indra after the entry of Vedavatī into the fire and return of mother Sītā from the fire in the Yuddhakāṇḍa (6.113.1 to 6.113.8)

जय राम शोभा धाम । दायक प्रनत बिश्राम ।
धृत तूण बर शर चाप । भुजदंड प्रबल प्रताप ॥

 

18. Toṭaka

The Toṭaka metre has four feet, every foot has 12 syllables and the sequence of short (S) and long (L) syllables in a foot is SSLSSLSSLSSL. There are 31 verses composed in the Toṭaka metre at the following places

1. Eleven verses (6.111.1 to 6.111.11) in the Yuddhakāṇḍa, in the eulogy of Śrīrāghava by Brahmā after the slaying of Rāvaṇa

जय राम सदा सुखधाम हरे । रघुनायक सायक चाप धरे ।
भव बारन दारन सिंह प्रभो । गुन सागर नागर नाथ बिभो ॥

2. Ten verses (7.14.1 to 7.14.10) in the eulogy by Vedas in the Uttarakāṇḍa

जय राम रमा रमणं शमनम् । भवताप भयाकुल पाहि जनम् ।
अवधेश सुरेश रमेश बिभो । शरणागत माँगत पाहि प्रभो ॥

3. Ten verses (7.101.1 to 7.101.5 and 7.102.1 to 7.102.5) in the description of the terrible Kali age during the previous birth of Kākabhuṣuṇḍi in the Uttarakāṇḍa

बहु दाम सँवारहिं धाम जती । विषया हरी लीन्ह गई बिरती ।
तपसी धनवंत दरिद्र गृही । कलि कौतुक तात न जात कही ॥