Padya: Prescribed Verses, Anvaya, Alankara, Metre and Message
Padya: prescribed verses
Padya asks for meaning, anvaya, alankara, metre, and message. A verse is not a word list: first restore prose order, then translate, then name the figure and metre only when the words support it.
Core moves
- Write anvaya: identify the finite verb, subject, objects, and connect participles and compounds.
- Translate clause by clause; keep negation and optative or imperative force.
- Alankara: upama needs a comparator and iva, yatha, or sadrsa; rupaka superimposes without a comparator; anuprasa repeats consonants; yamaka repeats syllables; atisayokti exaggerates; utpreksha imagines.
- Metre: count syllables per pada after sandhi, then check gana pattern and yati. Common SSLC metres include anustubh, indravajra, upendravajra, vasantatilaka, and shardulavikridita.
Worked example
Take “suryah pradipa iva prakasate.” Anvaya is already simple: suryah prakasate pradipa iva. Meaning: the sun shines like a lamp. Alankara: upama, because iva marks the comparison and there is a common property, prakasha. If the verse said “suryah pradipah prakasate,” it would be rupaka, not upama. Reasoning: the figure is decided by the presence or absence of a comparator marker, not by the English translation.
Traps
- Translating before anvaya and losing the verb.
- Calling every comparison upama; check for iva or yatha.
- Counting metre before resolving sandhi.
- Giving a message that is merely the literal meaning.
- Naming an alankara without quoting the operative words.