As for "my" Sanskrit verse, the first and last paada are as in the Bhaagavata-puraa.na.

Including the bha-vipulaa in the first paada.

I have always appreciated the occasional vipulaas in Madhav's ;slokas, which are like refreshing salt grains in the poetic dish that is being served (together with all other metres employed skillfully).

(Don't know how much the final published Kaavya has kept these occasional vipulaas.)

We are mostly familiar with (metrical) definitions of the ;sloka which concern only the strict pathyaa, such as पञ्चमं लघु सर्वत्र etc.

A probably unique metrical definition of the ;sloka which does take into account the vipulaas is the one formulated by an unduly neglected and largely forgotten western pioneer in the study of Sanskrit metrics, A.L. Chezy, also the first and so far last western scholar to summarize his scientific conclusion in Sanskrit (in his La Théorie du Śloka, ou mètre héroïque sanskrit, Paris, 1827).

Distinguishing four three-syllabic "places" in a hemistich of a ;sloka (not counting each paada's first and last syllable as that is laghu or guru, ad libitum), he indicated which of the eight possible three-syllabic "feet" of Indian metrics -- which he gives in the sequence, ma, na, ra, ja, sa, bha, ya, ta for which he invented a mnemonic paada, maa no raajaa sabhaam yaatu -- are permissible in each of the four "places" and which are excluded.

The resulting scheme he summarized as follows in a definition which illustrates itself:

प्रथमे द्वितीये स्थाने रः स्यान्नान्यत्र कर्हिचित् ।
द्वितीये नो नान्यत्रास्तु सस्तु त्यज्येत सर्वशः ॥१॥
द्वितीये मो नभौ रः स्युर् यस्थाने यदि मन्यसे ।
चतुर्थे त्वपि जान्नान्यां मात्रां लेखितुमर्हसि ॥२॥

(Admitting that the visual scheme on p. 10 may be more clear to most of us, I attach it here in the hope the Indology List server will allow it to reach interested readers.)

Chezy was in addition, I believe, the first and last to give a prescriptive definition, which is also clear from the Sanskrit subtitle of his work:

श्लोकरचनाविधिः

(freely translated: "How to Compose a ;Sloka")

Later studies of the ;sloka such as the one by Oldenberg are strictly descriptive and historical.

This longish excursus is not to distract the attention from Madhav's new Kaavya, but in order to return to it with even more appreciation:

After Chezy's initial prescriptive approach based on his laborious study of a large number of epic and classical metrical texts in Sanskrit manuscripts, extremely rare in Europe, kept in the French royal library (current BNF), and after the subsequent one-and-a-half century of occidental descriptive-historical studies (on the basis of editions which become more and more available), we have here a Kaavya showing not only a fusion of the occidental and oriental horizon, but also a neither-prescriptive-nor-descriptive, creative approach in which we have witnessed the verses in flexible ;sloka or strict sragdharaa etc. flow more and more effortlessly in a single perfect stroke -- occasional adjustments have been instructive but increasingly rare -- from Madhav's poetic vision (pratibhaa or dhiiH).

Best, Jan

On Sat, 13 Dec 2025 at 14:39, Madhav Deshpande <mmdesh@umich.edu> wrote:

Dear Jan,

Thank you for your congratulatory message. The beauty of the modern age is such that I could share my poetry daily with many readers almost as it was [and is] being composed. I started writing these verses casually almost eight years ago, but gradually this poetry has almost taken over my heart, so much that by the time I wake up in the morning, a verse is ready to be written down. I am still teaching Nyaya and Vyakarana to a few students, but the Krishna poetry always remains at the front of my mind. And finally thank you for your beautiful Sanskrit verse.

Madhav

Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies
Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India

[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]

On Sat, Dec 13, 2025 at 4:32 AM Jan E.M. Houben <jemhouben@gmail.com> wrote:
Dear Madhav,

Congratulations on this fantastic, monumental achievement.
Your work really makes आधुनिकसंस्कृतवाड़्मयम् progress and prosper.
We moreover experience in your verses, whatever I have succeeded to read till now from the abundant pre-publications, a profound originally and beautifully expressed bhakti and emotional force, which brings them to the level of Kāvya.
Hence, with some small variations to a well-known verse of the Bhāgavata-Purāṇa, and with reference to your extraordinary poetic vision (धीः) :
अहो वयं धन्यतमाः येषां नस् तादृशः सखा ।
धिया यस्य मतिर् जाता अस्माकं निश्चला हरौ ॥

All best,

Jan

On Fri, 5 Dec 2025 at 15:16, Madhav Deshpande via INDOLOGY <indology@list.indology.info> wrote:
Dear Friends,

I am glad to announce the publication of my Sanskrit Krishna poetry, with my English and Hindi translations, in three volumes, by Motilal Banarsidass and the Kendriya Sanskrit University, Delhi. I am eagerly waiting for my own copies. Here are the details of the publication:

श्रीमाधवकर्णामृतम् सप्तविंशतिशतकात्मकं काव्यम् (Śrīmādhavakarṇāmr̥tam saptaviṃśatiśatakātmam Kāvyam), by Professor Madhav M. Deshpande, (3 Volumes), Motilal Banarsidass, Delhi, 2025.

ISBN: 9789371005197, 937100519X

Regular price

₹ 2,695.00

https://www.mlbd.in/products/shrimadhavkarnamritam-saptavinshashtakatam-kavyam-3-volumes-by-madhav-murlidhar-deshpande-9789371005197-937100519x?srsltid=AfmBOori7PgaLEwjzbssM8tTXwp0csdmrzaTFJZShLJQRPhlthH2lRq6

Madhavakarņāmṛta is a collection of 2,700 Sanskrit verses on Krishna, composed by Dr. Madhav Murlidhar Deshpande and translated by the poet himself into English and Hindi. For several years, Dr. Deshpande composed these verses daily and shared them across various online platforms. Written in a variety of vivid Sanskrit meters, the verses portray Krishna in diverse forms, expressing deep emotion and devotion. They reflect the intense bond between the devotee and the divine and have been widely appreciated by readers. The painting featured on the cover was created by Mrs. Pranita Saklikar of San Jose, California.

DR. MADHAV MURLIDHAR DESHPANDE is an accomplished Sanskrit poet and scholar. Born in Pune in 1946, he received both traditional and modern training in Sanskrit and has been honored with several awards. After completing his M.A. at Pune University in 1968, he earned his Ph.D. from the University of Pennsylvania in 1972. He then served as Professor of Sanskrit at the University of Michigan from 1972 to 2017. Dr. Deshpande has published 15 books and over 200 scholarly articles on Sanskrit-related topics. Alongside his academic work, he has been composing Sanskrit poetry since his youth and continues to do so today. He currently resides in California, USA.

Madhav M. Deshpande
Professor Emeritus, Sanskrit and Linguistics
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, Michigan, USA
Senior Fellow, Oxford Center for Hindu Studies
Adjunct Professor, National Institute of Advanced Studies, Bangalore, India

[Residence: Campbell, California, USA]

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Jan E.M. Houben
Directeur d'Études, Professor of South Asian History and Philology
Sources et histoire de la tradition sanskrite
École Pratique des Hautes Études (EPHE, Paris Sciences et Lettres)
Sciences historiques et philologiques
Groupe de recherches en études indiennes (EA 2120)
johannes.houben [at] ephe.psl.eu
https://ephe-sorbonne.academia.edu/JanEMHouben
https://www.classicalindia.info