Śloka

Śloka denotes a verse in general and, specifically, the anuṣṭubh-based metre of four quarters (pādas) of eight syllables, thirty-two in all. It is the dominant metre of the epics, the Purāṇas and most śāstra texts, including the Jyotish classics. Tradition holds, as the opening of the Rāmāyaṇa tells, that Vālmīki's first śloka arose from grief (śoka) at the killing of a krauñca bird.