Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies - DUBOIS, Abbé Hindu Manners, Customs and Ceremonies, Dubois | Page 436

SUPERSTITION IN POETRY
306
letters to be of good and others of ill omen.
The
ambrosial letters (amritam) come under the head of the
former, while the poisonous letters (visham) belong to the
This distinction, however, is not observed in
latter class.
the poems in praise of the gods, who are supposed to be
some
beyond such influences. But in verses which concern
simple mortals the case is very different. Particular care
must be taken never to begin any verse addressed to them
with a visham or unlucky letter. In the Telugu and
Canarese languages, the letters ke, ki, pe, pi, te, ti, &c.,
are of this number, because these letters when written
have the point turned downwards. On the other hand,
the letters ko, po, to, &c, are considered to be lucky letters
(amritam), because they have the point turned upwards.
The Feet
in Verse.
ganams, and there are two kinds, the
simple ganams and the upaganams. The first are eight in
number, and are expressed by the word mahajasanarayala
The
feet are called
,
made up
of the first letters of the following
(2) haganam, (3) jaganam, (4) saganam,
raganam, (7) yaganam, (8) laganam.
:
maganam,
— naganam,
(1)
(5)
(6)
The first consists of three longs the second, of a long
and two shorts the third, of a long between two shorts
the fifth, of three
the fourth, of two shorts and a long
shorts the sixth, of a short between two longs
the seventh,
of a short and two longs
the eighth, of two longs and
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
a short.
There are eight
gavahana-gamanala,
upaganams expressed by the word
likewise by the combination
of the first letters of the following words
(1) gaganam,
composed of two longs (2) vaganam, of a short and a long
(4) nalam, of four
(3) haganam, of a long and a short
shorts
(6) malagam, of three
(5) galam, of two shorts
longs and a short
(7) nagam, of three shorts and a long
(8) latam, of two longs and two shorts.
The Hindu poets discern a certain relation between the
ganams and the upaganams, according to the effects which
made up
:
—
;
;
;
;
;
;
;
they are severally supposed to possess the faculty of pro-
They are all under the protection of different
ducing.
planets
and according to the good or evil dispositions of
;