The Bride
Sound the drum and voice the sankha! Brightly dawns the bridal day,Fresh from morning's pure ablutions comes the bride in garments gay!
And her golden bridal garland carries on her graceful arm,Softly, sweetly, steps Draupadi, queen of every winning charm!
Then a Brahman versed in mantra, ancient priest of lunar race,Lights the Fire, with pious offerings seeks its blessings and its grace,
Whispered words of benediction saints and holy men repeat,Conch and trumpet's voice is silent, hushed the lofty war-drum's beat,
And there reigns a solemn silence, and in stately pomp and pride,Drupad's son leads forth his sister, fair Panchala's beauteous bride!
In his loud and lofty accents like the distant thunder's sound,Drupad's son his father's wishes thus proclaims to all around:
"Mark this bow, assembled monarchs, and the target hung an high,Through yon whirling pierced discus let five glist'ning arrows fly!
Whoso born of noble lineage, hits the far suspended aim,Let him stand and as his guerdon Drupad's beauteous maiden claim!"
Then he turns unto Draupadi, tells each prince and suitor's name,Tells his race and lofty lineage, and his warlike deeds of fame.
Words in this poem
- sankha n.
- A chank shell (Turbinella pyrum); also, a shell bracelet or necklace made in India from the chank shell. [Skr. çankha a shell.]
- mantra n.
- A prayer; an invocation; a religious formula; a charm. [India] [Skr.]
- beauteous a.
- Full of beauty; beautiful; very handsome. [Mostly poetic] -- Beau"te*ous*ly, adv. --
- whoso pron.
- Whosoever. Piers Plowman.
- guerdon n.
- A reward; requital; recompense; -- used in both a good and a bad sense. [OF. guerdon, guerredon, LL. widerdonum (influenced by L. donum gift, cf. Donation ), fr. OHG. widarl; widar again, against (G. wider wieder) + lon reward, G. lo]
Definitions and etymologies from Webster's Unabridged Dictionary, 1913.
About this text
The Bride is in the public domain. This text is taken from The Mahabharata (condensed), Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, the Romesh Chunder Dutt translation; the transcription's header, footer and licence were removed and nothing else was changed. You may copy, print and reuse it freely.
Cite as: Vyasa, The Bride, in The Mahabharata (condensed) (1899), text of Project Gutenberg ebook #19630, Laurel, https://laurelpoetry.com/poem/mahabharata/the-bride.html, id L15765.
Form and metre
The Bride is 18 lines in 9 stanzas of 2 lines each. It is in rhyming couplets. The metre is trochaic octameter, measured from the stress the words themselves fix (confidence 88%). 95% of its stressed syllables fall where the metre puts the beat. The lines average 15.1 syllables.
See other poems in rhyming couplets, other poems in trochaic octameter.
Measured by Laurel's pipeline, not copied from a handbook: how stress and metre are counted, how rhyme is lettered, how a drifted rhyme is found. Where the dictionary cannot confirm a rhyme the letter is withheld, not guessed.
Rhyme words, stanza by stanza
The word that ends each line, lettered by the rhyme it makes; a dash is a line whose rhyme the dictionary could not confirm.
- 1 AA dayA · gayA
- 2 AA armA · charmA
- 3 AA raceA · graceA
- 4 AA repeatA · beatA
- 5 AA prideA · brideA
- 6 AA soundA · aroundA
- 7 AA highA · flyA
- 8 AA aimA · claimA
- 9 AA nameA · fameA
Scansion, line by line
Each line with its syllable count and the stresses the words themselves fix: / stressed, ˘ unstressed, · a syllable the word leaves free and the metre decides. Read against trochaic octameter. How this is done.
| Line | Syl. | Stress |
|---|---|---|
| Sound the drum and voice the sankha! Brightly dawns the bridal day, | 15 | ······/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Fresh from morning's pure ablutions comes the bride in garments gay! | 15 | ··/˘········/˘· |
| And her golden bridal garland carries on her graceful arm, | 15 | ··/˘/˘/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Softly, sweetly, steps Draupadi, queen of every winning charm! | 15 | /˘/˘······/˘/˘· |
| Then a Brahman versed in mantra, ancient priest of lunar race, | 15 | ······/˘/˘··/˘· |
| Lights the Fire, with pious offerings seeks its blessings and its grace, | 15 | ··/·//˘˘··/˘··· |
| Whispered words of benediction saints and holy men repeat, | 15 | /˘···˘/˘··/˘·˘/ |
| Conch and trumpet's voice is silent, hushed the lofty war-drum's beat, | 15 | ··/˘··/˘··/˘··· |
| And there reigns a solemn silence, and in stately pomp and pride, | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘··· |
| Drupad's son leads forth his sister, fair Panchala's beauteous bride! | 16 | ······/˘····/˘˘· |
| In his loud and lofty accents like the distant thunder's sound, | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/˘/˘· |
| Drupad's son his father's wishes thus proclaims to all around: | 15 | ····/˘/˘·˘/···· |
| "Mark this bow, assembled monarchs, and the target hung an high, | 15 | ···˘/˘/···/˘··· |
| Through yon whirling pierced discus let five glist'ning arrows fly! | 15 | ··/˘·˘/˘····/˘· |
| Whoso born of noble lineage, hits the far suspended aim, | 15 | /˘··/˘/˘···˘/˘· |
| Let him stand and as his guerdon Drupad's beauteous maiden claim!" | 16 | ······/˘··/˘˘/˘· |
| Then he turns unto Draupadi, tells each prince and suitor's name, | 15 | ············/˘· |
| Tells his race and lofty lineage, and his warlike deeds of fame. | 15 | ····/˘/˘··/···· |
The reader shows the same poem with its rhymes coloured and a stress row above each line, the notes beside their stanzas, and any word's definition on a tap; the analysis page takes the whole book apart. How every part of this site was made.