Hindi Literature, Ras, Chhand and Alankar
Shabd Alankar: Ornament of Sound
An alankar is a device that adorns poetry. In a shabd alankar the beauty lies in the sound of the words, so replacing a word by its synonym destroys the figure. In an arth alankar the beauty lies in the meaning, so it survives a synonym. Three shabd alankars are examined most often.
| Alankar | Rule | Example |
|---|---|---|
| Anupras | The same letter or sound repeats close together | “Charu chandra ki chanchal kiranen khel rahi hain jal-thal mein” (Maithilisharan Gupt, Panchavati): repeated ‘ch’ |
| Yamak | The same word recurs with a different meaning each time | “Kanak kanak te sau guni madakta adhikay” (Bihari): first ‘kanak’ is dhatura, second is gold |
| Shlesh | One word occurs once but carries two or more meanings | “Subaran ko dhundhat phirat kavi, vyabhichari, chor”: ‘subaran’ once = good letters (poet), good complexion (lover), gold (thief) |
Arth Alankar: Ornament of Meaning
Upma compares two different things that share a quality. It has four parts: upmey, upman, sadharan dharm and vachak shabd. In “Mukh chandrama ke saman sundar hai”, the face is upmey, the moon upman, beauty the shared quality and ‘ke saman’ the vachak.
- Rupak: upmey and upman are declared identical, with no word of likeness. “Charan-kamal bandau Hari Rai” (Surdas): the feet are lotuses.
- Utpreksha: the poet imagines the upmey to be the upman, signalled by mano, manu, janu, manahun, jano. “It seems as if the moon has spread silver over the earth.”
- Atishayokti: exaggeration beyond belief. “Hanuman ki poonchh mein lag na pai aag, Lanka sari jal gai gaye nisachar bhag.” The city burns before the tail is lit.
Chhand: Metres of Hindi Poetry
Chhand is the fixed pattern of sound in a verse. A matrik chhand is counted in matras: a short syllable is 1 and a long syllable is 2. A varnik chhand is counted in varnas (letters). Each line is divided into charans; a yati is the pause inside the line.
| Chhand | Type | Measure | Note |
|---|---|---|---|
| Doha | Matrik, couplet | Odd charans 13, even charans 11 matras | Kabir, Rahim, Bihari, Tulsi |
| Sortha | Matrik, couplet | Odd charans 11, even charans 13: the reverse of doha | Used in Ramcharitmanas |
| Chaupai | Matrik, sam | Four charans, 16 matras in each | Main narrative metre of Ramcharitmanas |
| Rola | Matrik, sam | Four charans, 24 matras each, pauses after 11 and 13 | Doha + rola make a kundaliya |
| Savaiya | Varnik | Four charans, 22 to 26 varnas each | Raskhan, Ghananand, Tulsi, Bhushan |
Worked count. Take the first charan of Rahim’s doha, “Rahiman dhaga prem ka”: Rahiman = ra(1)+hi(1)+ma(1)+na(1) = 4; dhaga = dha(2)+ga(2) = 4; prem = pre(2)+m(1) = 3; ka = 2. Total 4+4+3+2 = 13, a doha’s odd charan. The next charan, “mat todo chatkaye”, counts mat 2 + todo 4 + chatkaye 5 = 11. The syllable ‘pre’ is guru because of the long vowel sign ‘e’; a conjunct would additionally make the letter before it guru, but here ‘pr’ starts the word, so nothing before it is affected.
Periods of Hindi Literature
The usual four-fold scheme follows Acharya Ramchandra Shukla, whose Hindi Sahitya ka Itihas is the standard history. His dates are in Vikram Samvat; textbooks give rough Common Era years, which is why dates vary by about half a century between books. Use the order, not the exact years.
| Period | Approximate span | Poets and works |
|---|---|---|
| Adikal | c. 1000–1350 | Chandbardai: Prithviraj Raso; Jagnik: Alha-khand (attributed); Vidyapati: Padavali, Kirtilata; Amir Khusrau: riddles and songs |
| Bhaktikal | c. 1350–1650 | Kabir: Bijak; Jayasi: Padmavat; Surdas: Sursagar; Tulsidas: Ramcharitmanas; Meera: padas; Rahim; Raskhan |
| Ritikal | c. 1650–1850 | Keshavdas: Rasikpriya, Kavipriya; Bihari: Bihari Satsai; Bhushan: Shivrajbhushan; Matiram; Ghananand; Padmakar |
| Adhunik kal | c. 1850 onward | Bharatendu, Dwivedi, Chhayavad, Pragativad, Prayogvad, Nayi Kavita (next table) |
- Bhaktikal has two streams. Nirgun: the jnanashrayi branch of Kabir, Raidas and Dadu, and the premashrayi branch of Jayasi and Manjhan. Sagun: Ram-bhakti (Tulsidas) and Krishna-bhakti.
- Ritikal poets are grouped as ritibaddh, ritisiddh and ritimukt.
Modern Hindi Poetry: Movements and Poets
| Movement | Rough span | Poets and works |
|---|---|---|
| Bharatendu yug | 1850–1900 | Bharatendu Harishchandra: Andher Nagari, Bharat Durdasha, Satya Harishchandra |
| Dwivedi yug | 1900–1918 | Named after Mahavir Prasad Dwivedi, editor of Saraswati; Maithilisharan Gupt: Bharat-Bharati, Saket, Panchavati; Ayodhya Singh Upadhyay ‘Harioudh’: Priyapravas |
| Chhayavad | c. 1918–1936 | Four pillars: Jaishankar Prasad (Kamayani, Aansu), Nirala (Parimal, Anamika, Saroj Smriti), Sumitranandan Pant (Pallav, Gunjan, Chidambara), Mahadevi Verma (Nihar, Rashmi, Neerja, Deepshikha) |
| Pragativad | c. 1936–1943 | Marxist-leaning social poetry: Nagarjun, Kedarnath Agrawal, Trilochan |
| Prayogvad | from 1943 | Begins with Tarsaptak edited by Agyeya (its seven poets include Muktibodh); Agyeya: Hari Ghas par Kshan Bhar, Aangan ke Par Dwar |
| Nayi Kavita | from c. 1950s | Dharmveer Bharati (Kanupriya), Kunwar Narayan (Atmajayi), Girijakumar Mathur |
Hindi Prose and Major Prose Writers
Modern Hindi prose grew with the Bharatendu yug. Premchand is the towering figure of the novel and short story, and Hazariprasad Dwivedi and Ramchandra Shukla are the great essayists and critics. Dates of first works are debated: some scholars call Lala Shrinivas Das’s Pariksha Guru (1882) the first Hindi novel, others name earlier works, and first-story claims range from Kishorilal Goswami’s Indumati to Chandradhar Sharma Guleri’s Usne Kaha Tha (1915). Exams ask poet-work and author-work pairs, so learn them by genre.
| Writer | Works |
|---|---|
| Premchand | Godan, Gaban, Nirmala, Sevasadan, Rangbhumi; stories Kafan, Poos ki Raat, Idgah |
| Jaishankar Prasad | Plays Skandagupta, Chandragupta, Dhruvaswamini; novels Kankal, Titli |
| Hazariprasad Dwivedi | Bana Bhatt ki Atmakatha, Ashok ke Phool, Kabir, Hindi Sahitya ki Bhumika |
| Yashpal | Jhutha Sach, Divya, Dada Kamred |
| Phanishwarnath Renu | Maila Anchal, Parti Parikatha; story Teesri Kasam |
| Agyeya | Shekhar: Ek Jivani, Nadi ke Dweep, Apne Apne Ajnabi |
| Bhisham Sahni, Mohan Rakesh, Dharmveer Bharati | Tamas; Ashadh ka Ek Din; Gunahon ka Devta and the verse play Andha Yug |
| Harishankar Parsai | Satirical essays: Vaishnav ki Fisalan, Viklang Shraddha ka Daur |
| Mahadevi Verma | Prose sketches Atit ke Chalchitra, Smriti ki Rekhayen; essays Shrinkhala ki Kadiyan |
Key takeaways
- The nine rasas pair with sthayi bhavs: Shringar–Rati, Hasya–Has, Karun–Shok, Raudra–Krodh, Veer–Utsah, Bhayanak–Bhay, Bibhats–Jugupsa, Adbhut–Vismay, Shant–Nirved; vatsalya and bhakti are later additions.
- Anupras repeats sounds, yamak repeats a word with different meanings, shlesh packs several meanings into one occurrence; upma has a word of likeness, rupak identifies, utpreksha imagines with mano or janu.
- Doha is 13+11 matras, sortha 11+13, chaupai 16 per charan, rola 24 per charan, savaiya a varnik metre of 22 to 26 letters per charan.
- The order of periods is Adi, Bhakti, Riti, Adhunik; Shukla’s Veergathakal is today usually called Adikal and the dates of all periods are approximate.
- Chhayavad’s four pillars are Prasad, Nirala, Pant and Mahadevi; Gupt belongs to the Dwivedi yug, and Tarsaptak (1943) opens Prayogvad.
- Learn prose works by genre: Premchand (Godan), Renu (Maila Anchal), Yashpal (Jhutha Sach), Bhisham Sahni (Tamas); Jnanpith to Hindi writers in 1968, 1972, 1978 and 1982 went to Pant, Dinkar, Agyeya and Mahadevi.
Practice questions (18)
Attempt each one before opening the answer. Every explanation names the tempting wrong option as well as the right one, because that is where marks are lost.
In the classical theory of rasas, what is the sthayi bhav of Veer ras?
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Answer: C — Utsah (zeal)
Veer ras rests on utsah, the zeal for battle, charity or righteous effort. Krodh is the sthayi bhav of Raudra ras, the tempting neighbour, because a warrior is also angry, but anger is not the permanent emotion of Veer.Judge these pairs of ras and sthayi bhav. P: Bibhats–Jugupsa. Q: Bhayanak–Bhay. R: Adbhut–Nirved. S: Shant–Vismay. Which are correct?
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Answer: A — P and Q only
Bibhats has jugupsa (disgust) and Bhayanak has bhay (fear). Adbhut has vismay (wonder) and Shant has nirved (detachment), so R and S swap the two bhavs and are wrong; the pair with R is tempting because both are rarer rasas.Which of the following is one of the nine rasas of classical Sanskrit poetics as taught in the standard syllabus?
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Answer: D — Shant (calm)
Shant is the ninth rasa, with nirved as its sthayi bhav. Vatsalya and bhakti were added by later writers who counted eleven rasas, so they are not in the standard nine. Dasya is a devotional attitude, not a rasa in this list.“Hearing a lion roar in a lonely forest, the traveller’s hair stood on end and he trembled all over.” Which ras is this?
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Answer: B — Bhayanak, because the sthayi bhav is fear
The lion is the alamban and the trembling and raised hair are anubhavs of fear, so the ras is Bhayanak. Raudra needs anger directed at a wrongdoer, which is absent; the traveller is only frightened.Which alankar is present in “Charan-kamal bandau Hari Rai”?
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Answer: B — Rupak, because the feet are identified with the lotus
No word of likeness appears and the feet are called lotuses outright, so the figure is Rupak. Upma would need a vachak word such as ‘sa’; Utpreksha would need ‘mano’ or ‘janu’.“Subaran ko dhundhat phirat kavi, vyabhichari, chor.” The word ‘subaran’ is written once, but the poet, the lover and the thief each seek a different thing (good letters, fair complexion, gold). Which alankar is this?
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Answer: D — Shlesh, because one word carries several meanings
One occurrence of ‘subaran’ yields three meanings, which defines Shlesh. Yamak is the tempting alternative but needs the word to be written two or more times, each time with a different meaning.Consider these statements. P: In Upma the words upmey, upman, sadharan dharm and vachak shabd can all appear. Q: In Rupak no word of likeness is used. R: Utpreksha is signalled by words like ‘manahun’ and ‘janu’. S: In Yamak a word appears once and carries many meanings. Which statements are correct?
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Answer: B — P, Q and R only
P, Q and R are correct. S describes Shlesh, not Yamak: in Yamak the word is repeated, with a different meaning each time. Options that include S therefore fail even though they contain two true statements.How many matras do the first and second charans of a doha contain, in that order?
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Answer: C — 13 and 11
A doha has 13 matras in the odd charans and 11 in the even charans. The pair 11 and 13 is the reverse pattern of the sortha, which is the usual distractor.A couplet has 11 matras in its odd charans and 13 in its even charans. Which chhand is it?
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Answer: B — Sortha, the reverse of doha
Sortha reverses the doha: 11 then 13. Doha is 13 then 11. Chaupai has four charans of 16 and rola has 24 per charan, so neither fits a couplet of 11 and 13.Which of the following pairs of chhand and its measure is NOT correct?
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Answer: D — Savaiya: four charans of 16 matras each
Savaiya is a varnik chhand, counted in letters (22 to 26 per charan), not in matras. The other pairs are correct; the chaupai figure of 16 is the one most often confused with the savaiya.Counting laghu as 1 and guru as 2, how many matras are in “Rahiman dhaga prem ka”?
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Answer: C — 13 matras
Rahiman = 1+1+1+1 = 4, dhaga = 2+2 = 4, prem = 2+1 = 3, ka = 2, so 4+4+3+2 = 13 matras, the odd charan of a doha. A count of 12 results from treating ‘pre’ as laghu, which is wrong because of the ‘e’ matra.Arrange these poets in the order of the periods of Hindi literature they belong to, earliest first: P: Bihari. Q: Chandbardai. R: Kabir. S: Bharatendu Harishchandra.
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Answer: A — Q, R, P, S
Chandbardai is of the Adikal, Kabir of the Bhaktikal, Bihari of the Ritikal and Bharatendu of the modern period: Q, R, P, S. Placing Bihari before Kabir is the common slip, as Bihari’s verse is more polished but later.Which poet-work pair is correctly matched?
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Answer: B — Jayasi – Padmavat
Malik Muhammad Jayasi wrote the Sufi romance Padmavat. Ramcharitmanas is Tulsidas’s, Sursagar is Surdas’s, and Rasikpriya is Keshavdas’s; Bihari’s famous work is Bihari Satsai.Which of these writers is NOT counted among the four pillars of Chhayavad?
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Answer: D — Maithilisharan Gupt, author of Saket
The four pillars are Prasad, Nirala, Pant and Mahadevi. Maithilisharan Gupt is a national poet associated with the Dwivedi yug, which is why he is tempting as a ‘major poet of the same age’ but not a Chhayavadi pillar.Which historian of Hindi literature named the first period Veergathakal in his history of 1929?
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Answer: A — Ramchandra Shukla
Ramchandra Shukla used Veergathakal. Hazariprasad Dwivedi’s name Adikal later became standard and is the tempting answer because it appears in modern textbooks; Rahul Sankrityayan proposed Siddh-Samant yug, and Premchand was a novelist, not a literary historian.Which of these novels was written by Phanishwarnath Renu?
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Answer: D — Maila Anchal
Maila Anchal is Renu’s regional novel. Godan is Premchand’s, Tamas is Bhisham Sahni’s and Jhutha Sach is Yashpal’s; the three are all well-known novels, which makes them tempting distractors.Which writer-work pair is NOT correctly matched?
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Answer: C — Yashpal – Maila Anchal
Maila Anchal is by Phanishwarnath Renu, not Yashpal, whose novels include Jhutha Sach and Divya. The remaining three pairs are correct; Parsai’s satirical essays can look like a novel title, which makes that pair a tempting but correct one.The 1968 Jnanpith Award, the first to go to a Hindi writer, was given to which poet?
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Answer: B — Sumitranandan Pant
Pant received the 1968 award. Dinkar followed in 1972, Agyeya in 1978 and Mahadevi Verma in 1982; Dinkar is the tempting answer because he is the best-known poet of the group.