Tripadi (
Kannada, lit. tri: three, pad or "adi": feet) is a native
metre in the
Kannada language dating back to c. 700 CE.
Definition
The tripadi consists of three lines, each differing from the others in the number of
feet and
moras (
Sanskritmatras),[1] but in accordance with the following rules:
The first line has 4 feet, each with 5 moras, and a
caesura at the end of the second foot.[1]
where (
breve) denotes a short syllable, and (
macron) a long one.
The remaining feet have either 5 moras or 4, chosen to satisfy the rules of
Nagavarma II:[1]
Line 1 20 moras in four feet Line 2 17 moras in four feet Line 3 13 moras in three feet.
There is
alliteration of the second letter of each line.
Metrical structure
An example, of a possible
scansion (metrical structure) of a tripadi, is given in (
Kittel 1875, p. 98), where it is also stressed that it is not the form of the moras, but the number that is important. (Here * denotes a
caesura)
A well-known example of the tripadi is the third stanza in the inscription of
Kappe Arabhatta (here the symbol | denotes the end of a line, and ||, the end of the tripadi):
To the good people,1a good;1b to the sweet,1c sweetness;1d| causing distress1e
to the kali age,2a an exceptional man in Kaliyuga,2b| Madhava (or
Vishnu)2c this man,2d another2e is not2f||