4-567: Kakawin are long narrative poems composed in Old Javanese , also called " Kawi ", written in verse form with rhythms and meters derived from Sanskrit literature. Poets used a formalized literary language , rather than the vernacular . Poets composed and performed the poems at the courts of central and east Java kings between the 9th and 16th centuries, and in Bali . Although the poems depict events and characters from Hindu mythology,
8-401: A syllable which contains a short one is called laghu (Sanskrit for "light"). The term guru laghu denotes the structure of a line. For example, each line of the kakawin metre called " Śardūlawikrīd[?]ita " consists of 19 syllables. The guru laghu of each line is as follows" ---|UU-|U-U|UU-|--U|--U| U. The notation "-" means that the syllable in question is long, while the "U" means that
12-460: The narratives are set in the local landscapes of the islands. They are rich sources of information about courtly society in Java and Bali. A kakawin stanza consists of four lines. Each line has a set number of syllables per line, set in patterns of long and short syllables based on Sanskrit rules of prosody . A syllable which contains a long vowel is called guru (Sanskrit for "heavy"), while
16-480: The syllable is short. As an example, the opening stanza of the Kakawin Arjunawiwaha , which is in the metre Śardūlawikrīd[?]ita , is taken: A syllable which contains a long vowel is automatically long (ā, ī, ū, ö, e, o, ai, and au) and thus guru . But on the other hand, a syllable with a vowel followed by two consonants is also long. In addition to that the last syllable of a line may both contain
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