తెలుగు ఛందస్సు అంటే పద్యం రాయడానికి పాటించే నియమాల శాస్త్రం. Telugu Chandassu is the system of prosody (poetic metre) that gives Telugu padyalu (verses) their rhythm. This guide explains the basics in simple English with Telugu terms, so parents and children can learn together.
1. Laghuvu and Guruvu (లఘువు, గురువు)
Every syllable in a verse is either short or long.
- Laghuvu (I) – a short syllable, one beat (మాత్ర). Example: క, కి, కు.
- Guruvu (U) – a long syllable, two beats. Long vowels (కా, కీ), syllables with ఐ/ఔ (కై), syllables with anusvara or visarga (కం, కః), and any syllable that comes just before a conjunct or double consonant (the అ in అమ్మ) are all guruvu.
2. Ganas (గణాలు)
A gana is a group of three syllables. There are eight, remembered with the phrase “య మా తా రా జ భా న స ల గం”:
- య (ya) – I U U
- మ (ma) – U U U
- త (ta) – U U I
- ర (ra) – U I U
- జ (ja) – I U I
- భ (bha) – U I I
- న (na) – I I I
- స (sa) – I I U
Telugu also uses upaganas (sub-groups) for native metres: two Surya ganas (న – III, హ/గలం – UI) and six Indra ganas (నగ, సల, నల, భ, ర, త).
3. Yati and Prasa (యతి, ప్రాస)
- Yati – the first letter of each line must “match” (have yati maitri with) the letter at a fixed position in the same line.
- Prasa – the second letter of every line must be the same consonant. Vrittas and Kandam require prasa; Tetagiti, Ataveladi and Seesam do not.
4. Vrittas (వృత్తాలు) – Fixed-pattern metres
These four Sanskrit-derived metres are the most common in Telugu poetry:
- Utpalamala (ఉత్పలమాల): భ ర న భ భ ర వ – 20 syllables per line, yati at the 10th
- Champakamala (చంపకమాల): న జ భ జ జ జ ర – 21 syllables, yati at the 11th
- Shardulam (శార్దూలం): మ స జ స త త గ – 19 syllables, yati at the 13th
- Mattebham (మత్తేభం): స భ ర న మ య వ – 20 syllables, yati at the 14th
Example of Utpalamala from Pothana’s Bhagavatam: “ఎవ్వనిచే జనించు జగ మెవ్వని లోపల నుండు లీనమై” (Evvaniche janinchu jaga mevvani lopala nundu leenamai).
5. Jatis and Upajatis (జాతులు, ఉపజాతులు) – Native Telugu metres
- Kandam (కందం): Lines 1 and 3 have three ganas, lines 2 and 4 have five. The Sumati Satakam is written in Kandam.
- Tetagiti (తేటగీతి): One Surya gana, two Indra ganas, then two Surya ganas in each line.
- Ataveladi (ఆటవెలది): Lines 1 and 3: three Surya + two Indra ganas; lines 2 and 4: five Surya ganas. Most of Vemana’s poems use Ataveladi.
- Seesam (సీసం): Long lines of six Indra + two Surya ganas, always followed by a Tetagiti or Ataveladi.
- Dvipada (ద్విపద): Couplets with three Indra + one Surya gana per line; used for long narrative works like the Ranganatha Ramayanam.
A famous Ataveladi example
ఉప్పు కప్పురంబు నొక్క పోలికనుండు / చూడ చూడ రుచుల జాడ వేరు / పురుషులందు పుణ్య పురుషులు వేరయా / విశ్వదాభిరామ వినుర వేమ
Meaning: Salt and camphor look alike, but taste them and they are completely different. In the same way, good people may look like everyone else, but their goodness sets them apart.
How children can practise
- Write a line of a poem and mark I or U under every syllable.
- Split the marks into groups of three and name each gana.
- Compare the pattern with the list above to identify the metre.
- Clap the rhythm: one clap for laghuvu, a longer clap for guruvu.
Learning chandassu turns Telugu poems into a fun pattern puzzle, and it helps children read and recite padyalu with the right rhythm.
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