# Chhand
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{{Short description|Quatrain used in poetic traditions in India and Pakistan}}
{{About|the quatrain poetic form of North India and Pakistan|the Vedic poetry|Vedic metre|metre in Sanskrit poetry|Sanskrit prosody|the Kannada and Telugu poetry|Chandas (poetry)|the typeface|Chandas (typeface)|other uses|Chanda (disambiguation)}}
'''''Chhand''''' ({{langx|pa|ਛੰਦ }}, {{langx|ur|چھند}}, {{langx|hi|छंद}}) is a [quatrain](/source/quatrain) used in the [poetic](/source/poetry) traditions of [North India](/source/North_India) and [Pakistan](/source/Pakistan).[{{Citation | title=A glossary of the tribes and castes of the Punjab and North-West Frontier Province | author=Horace Arthur Rose | year=1997 | publisher=Atlantic Publishers & Distributors, 1997 | isbn=978-81-85297-69-9 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=LPsvytmN3mUC | quote=''... Chhand means quatrains ...''}}]
==Chhands in culture==
In the culture of the northwestern part of the [Indian subcontinent](/source/Indian_subcontinent), it is customary for ''chhands'' to be recited at ceremonial occasions such as weddings, where they are used by grooms to praise their in-laws. Formerly, the form was extensively employed by court bards to praise royal personages. ''Chhands'' are also used extensively in the ''[Nautanki](/source/Nautanki)'' dance-drama tradition of the region, especially in the ''alha chhand'' or ''bir chhand'' formats.[{{Citation | title=Grounds for play: the Nautanki theatre of North India | author=Kathryn Hansen | date=13 December 1991 | publisher=University of California Press, 1992 | isbn=978-0-520-07273-2 | url=https://books.google.com/books?id=INEnJvlv6JsC | quote=''... Nautanki has incorporated the characteristic meter of the Alha epic, the chhand (also known as alha chhand or bir chhand) into its prosodic texture ...''}}] A typical Punjabi wedding ''chhand'' might extol the mother- and father-in-law, for instance this one, which says the groom holds them in the same esteem as his own parents -
{|
!Transcription
|-
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چهند پراگا آ ًیے جا ًیے
چهند پراگا گهیوه
سس نوں منّا ماتا/امّی جی
تے سوهرے جی نوں پیوه
|
छंद परागा आईए जाईए
छंद परागा घ्योह
सस नूँ मन्ना माता/अम्मी जी
ते सोहरे जी नूँ प्योह
|
''chhand paraga aiyey-jaiyey''
''chhand paraga g(h)yoh''
''sass nun manna mata/ammi ji''
''te sohre ji nun pyoh''
|}
A Rajasthani language ''chhand'', from the poem ''[Haldighati](/source/Haldighati)'' by [Kanhaiyalal Sethia](/source/Kanhaiyalal_Sethia), describes [Maharana Pratap](/source/Maharana_Pratap)'s determination to fight on against the [Mughal](/source/Mughal_Empire)s at all costs -
{|
!Transcription
!Translation
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हूँ भूख मरूँ, हूँ प्यास मरूँ
मेवाड़ धरा आज़ाद रहै
हूँ घोर उजाड़ा में भटकूँ
पण मन में माँ री याद रह्वै
|
''hoon bhookh maroon, hoon pyaas maroon''
''mewar dhara azaad rahai''
''hoon ghor ujara mein bhatkoon''
''pan man mein ma ri yaad r'hvai''
|
''Let me die of hunger, let me die of thirst''
''[Mewar](/source/Mewar) must remain free''
''Let me wander the bleakest wildernesses''
''But the mother(land) must always be in my thoughts''
|}
==Chhands in religion==
[Jaap Sahib](/source/Jaap_Sahib) is the morning prayer of the Sikhs. The Prayer or Bani was composed by the tenth Sikh Master, [Guru Gobind Singh](/source/Guru_Gobind_Singh). Jaap Sahib is made up of 199 [verses](/source/verse_(poetry)) and is the first Bani of the Dasam Granth (p. 1-10). The Jaap Sahib begins with "Sri Mukhwakh Patshahi Dasvee," "By the holy mouth of the Tenth King." This appears to be a specific saying to authenticate the writings of Guru Gobind Singh himself. The language of Jaap, is close to classical with words and compounds drawn from Sanskrit, Brij Bhasha, Arabic and Urdu. The contents of Jaap Sahib, are divided into various '''Chhands''' bearing the name of the related meter according to the then prevalent system of prosody in India.Jaap Sahib is a total and complete introduction to a non-individual Creator, or Nature itself, or the Forces of Universe, or the Laws of Nature.
==Etymology==
The term is derived from the [Sanskrit](/source/Sanskrit) word ''chhanda'', which refers to the study of [Vedic meter](/source/Vedic_meter). However, in North India and Pakistan, ''chhand'' has come to mean a specific poetic style associated with the modern languages native to the region, such as [Punjabi](/source/Punjabi_language), [Hindko](/source/Hindko_language), [Dogri](/source/Dogri_language), [Hindustani](/source/Hindustani_language), Gujarati and [Rajasthani](/source/Rajasthani_language).
==See also==
*[Chaupai (poetry)](/source/Chaupai_(poetry))
*[Doha (poetry)](/source/Doha_(poetry))
*[Chaupai (Sikhism)](/source/Chaupai_(Sikhism))
*[http://marriagesloks.blogspot.in Collection of Wedding Chhand - marriagesloks.blogspot.in]
==References==
{{reflist}}
Category:Stanzaic form
Category:Indian poetics
Category:Poetic rhythm
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Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Chhand](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhand) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chhand?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.